Macau Scams & More: Malaysians Share Scams They Fell For [SPONSORED]

Your parents are right.
No matter how much we may want to deny it, there *are* bad people in this world. People who don’t think twice about organising Macau scams and taking your money from you through illegal and unethical means. They do it easily, without guilt or remorse.

This article is a compilation of anecdotes by real people, who were scammed or almost got scammed. Thank you to all who contributed.

#1 –  Macau scams (telecommunication or fake call scams)

Macau scams are so prevalent, PDRM (the Royal Malaysian Police) has issued an alert to warn the public. Macau scams have four main modus operandis, and it’s almost always via a phone call or text:

a) Lucky draw or winning entries

You probably have heard of these types of Macau scams.

Aniza R
 – Once, when I picked up the phone, a computerised voice said that I have won money from CIMB. I don’t even have an account with CIMB.

The call actually came from the legit CIMB customer service number. I called the number to check and was told that they (the scammers) are able to hack real numbers.

We call this the “too lazy dont even wanna make an effort” SMS scam
pic.twitter.com/XVQhywOcQd

— Pelham Blue Asset Management (@pelhambluefund)
June 13, 2019

Hi
@Maxis

@MaxisListens
, looks like there are people out there impersonating you over WhatsApp.
pic.twitter.com/aKAqAXcF4y

— FED (@Mr_Fed)
June 2, 2019

b) Impersonating as kidnappers

No one came forward to report this scam this time around, but I’ve heard stories of Malaysians being scammed via this Macau scams method.

This type of Macau scam is designed to scare parents and grandparents into taking fast action and I understand how one would fall for it. Hearing your loved ones is in danger is enough incentive to immediately make the money transfers.

Here is
one account of a parent who fell for a fake kidnapping call
.

c) Spoofing as a police officer or a government official

The next Macau scams type is one of the scariest as they impersonate authoritative figures!

Fadzr Latip
 – I received a call from a supposed police station number. The number appeared as 07-XXXXXX, the same number used by a police station in Johor. The person on the line said I had some unpaid credit card dues.

I knew it was a scam because I don’t owe money, as I try my best to pay off all my credit card dues every month. But he was in character all the way and said he is the police.

I insisted on calling him back on the same number he called me. When I did, a real police on the other line told me they have been receiving the same feedback from the public about their number being used to scam people.

Shamini Arivananthan
 – I received a call claiming from Kuantan court saying I have a warrant. They called multiple times and tried to get my IC number. Best of all, the call is to my office number which is a law firm. We also received several scam calls saying from banks.

Here’s one of the voicemail recording, as shared by a reader.

Kalau tak jawab call tu dia auto je
pic.twitter.com/sac8nHY3b8

— busydoinnothin (@ef_hash)
June 13, 2019

d) Spoofing as a Bank Negara official or commercial banks

Anon
– I received an SMS scam from 68833. It said:

RM0.00 CIMB: MYR 680.28 was charged on your card num 5318 at TRIVAGO on 15/05. Pls call 1800817866 for any queries.

I found out it was a scam SMS by using the TrueCaller app to search the phone number. Also, I don’t have any credit card with that number. I don’t even have an account with CIMB.

I think they just want you to panic and call the number listed in the SMS. The scammer will answer the call and try to get your money.

e) [NEW Macau Scam methodology] Spoofing using postage methods

While I was collecting anecdotes, scammers have ‘leveled’ up from their usual modus operandi and started using this new tactic. Three people said they were almost scammed this way in June.

Simon Malik
 – I received a prerecorded call stated that I have an uncollected parcel from Poslaju. When connected to the number given, the person claimed she was from Poslaju hub Kuala Lumpur. She asked for my name and IC number and I gave her false ones.

After ‘checking’, she said that I have a registered letter from LHDN with a certain number reference in their custody. She said that this letter is now at the Poslaju KL hub and need to be claimed within 2 hours
,
since is the letter about unpaid tax due to owning shares. She tried to make me nervous, telling that I sound surprised and I did not know about this.

I played along, asked lots of questions, argued with her about the parcel location, told her I’ll check with a relative who works at LHDN. In the end, she gave up.

One thing I realize is, they have a script to talk. The best way is to counter back by asking a lot of questions and argue back.

SCAM ALERT. PLEASE READ AND PLEASE SHARE:
pic.twitter.com/1NaC3rmJIv

— Annatasha (@monkeydisease)
June 13, 2019

Sharing mine that just happened yesterday.
pic.twitter.com/PKv3FWgIcC

— gwen (@shirogwen)
June 13, 2019

—

Some of you might wonder, okay how *do* we know if the call is legit or not? None of us wants to ignore or laugh off an actual warrant against us, right? Here’s an article by AskLegal on picking up
red flags indicative of Macau scams
.

Here’s a rule of thumb –
DO NOT transfer money or divulge bank card and pin number over the phone, no matter how much they threaten you.

#2 – Being told to pay for PIDM’s protection services

This scam is horrible because the scammers target… people who are
already
financially desperate.

Modus operandi:

Desperation forces some people to approach money lenders

They are told to make payment to ‘activate’ PIDM’s protection before they can receive the money

They never get the money after making payment and this may potentially get them into a worse financial situation

You can see some evidence of this. In PIDM’s Google Answers page, you can see some queries from the public about this type of scam.

As a reminder,
PIDM’s protection for deposits, takaful and insurance benefits (up to a certain amount) – are FREE
. There is no payment required.

Let me repeat that, because it’s important. There. Is. No. Payment. Required. For. PIDM’s. Protection.

It’s also important to take note of which banking products are protected (for deposits, PIDM protects savings accounts, current accounts, joint accounts, etc.) and not protected.

Some banking products are not and have never been under PIDM’s protection. For example,
loan products are NOT protected by PIDM so watch out if anybody tells you to pay a fee to PIDM in order to take out a loan.

Read

here to find out more about PIDM protection
.

#3 – Online Scams

Many of you have been exposed to online scams one way or another. Some were obvious, others were a lot more elaborate and professionally-executed. Here are some examples.

Online selling scam

There are two main ways for scammers to part you with your money via online selling scam. If you’re a buyer, you might never receive the item you paid for.

Syaza Nazura
 – One of my friends got scammed about a cheap iPhone. Got random messages saying something like “Buy an iPhone for only RMXXX” and they were really attracted by the cheap iPhones price so they didn’t think much about it. After they paid the deposit, the seller cut off communications. That’s when they realised they’ve been scammed.

This can happen for a variety of items. Even
flight tickets
! If you see super-cheap flight tickets sold on Instagram or Facebook,
that’s most likely fake
 – don’t buy them because you’ll probably get stranded. It’s impressive how brazen they are at conducting these activities.

These fake flight ticket scams are still ongoing, according to
one former ‘agent’ who refunded customers’ money out of her own pocket and lost RM300k herself
.

Sellers can get scammed as well:

Anon
 – I want to share my experience almost being scammed. At the time I just registered as a Shopee seller, selling vintage kimonos. I had just uploaded two items and someone DM-ed with interest to purchase. The person requested to Whatsapp me other pictures personally, and I did because I haven’t uploaded the rest in the platform.

He said he’d buy four items for his partner in Kelantan, claiming he’s out of the country. I gave him my bank account number and other details like usual. The next message from him was informing me of his transfer, telling me to check my email.

By that point I felt something was off, but played along. The email ended up in my spam folder. When I opened it, apparently an international bank transferred a big amount to my account and instructed me to refund back the balance.

I googled, found out it’s a scam, then blocked the buyer. The email received is as below.

Rental scams

Zoe Liew –
 I got scammed out of 900 euros. I was desperate for a place to stay in the Netherlands and it was really hard to find a place online unless we went through the school or real estate agencies and the fees were exorbitant

They even provided me with a copy of the contract and their passport. Turns out even the passport copy was stolen.

Ayesha
 – H
ow about the rent scam in Bangsar South? They post fake ads for rooms on iBilik, Mudah etc that’s actually just booked for the day from AirBnb (
here’s one expose
). Very reasonable price! Make people pay for down payment/deposit, then disappear. I saw some people get scammed this way.

When I was room hunting I encountered some of these scammers/ fake ads. Waste of time! Can you imagine 8/10 room ads I contacted were scam. Some stories I read were UM students, or people outside KL who just got a job and desperate to look for affordable rooms. I feel bad for people who don’t know better.

Love/friendship scams

These types of scams are disgusting since scammers spend so much time and effort to get your trust. It’s easy to dismiss them, thinking, oh why was he/she so easy to dupe.

But what if a good friend of yours ended up doing this to you? It’s not just financially painful, but emotionally as well.

Anon
–
Briefly: he befriended me and a friend using a fake name, we got along pretty well. He was very engaging and active in our chat group.

We met up often. He planned a trip but as the date approached, he went silent in the chat. A few days later, his ‘brother’ introduced himself in the chat, informed us that his bro met an accident while in KK and was in a coma, so he took it upon himself to let us know.

The ‘brother’ kept us updated about his progress and recovery in detail. He shared a photo of him with his head shaved (allegedly) for surgery. He always gave apologetic excuses why we can’t visit. Then he asked me for help because they were in urgent need of funds for emergency surgery. I stupidly lost RM6.5k

I’ve made a police report but according to the officer, nothing much can be done because what he did (and is still doing) is kind of a gray area thing

 Further reading (with pics of the scammer)
.

Job opportunity scams

Anon
– I want to share my experience being scammed via LinkedIn. Made a police report over it but they said it’ll be hard to catch the scammers.

V
 –
A week ago I got scammed for a job.

I am desperate for work, but currently can’t take any full-time jobs because I have things to deal with.

I saw a job post on a Facebook job group. The work is typing out content from a physical book, and we will get paid RM3-5 per page. I was interested because I could do this job anywhere.

They said there would be a “deposit” of RM50 to send the physical books. I thought it was a real job and deposited the amount.
I even wrote the contract to work with this person
. It seems legit with the contract and company (in Kedah apparently).

I contacted this guy two days after and asked for the tracking number. An hour later I found out that I was blocked.

#5 – IRL scams

Charity or donation scams

Lee Jun
 – I was approached by some nicely dressed young man asking for a donation for XX Elder Care Centre. It didn’t occur to me to check that The XX Elder Care Centre is in a different state, but I did think it was weird of them to come all the way to a different state.

Later, when my friend did a Google search and called the XX centre, they said they don’t send people out collecting cash donations. They said they raise funds through charity sales or Corp donations to their bank account.

Hakim Aar
 – One African man approached me, said I’m handsome and gave a speech on how Muslims must help each other. He then proceeded to ask for money right after. Gave him 70sen. The lesson here is, don’t trust random people calling you handsome.

Street scams

Anon
– I did some random survey outside of Lot10. They asked me to fill up a form and give them points for some activities. I wrote 100 then a group of them came and surrounded me trying to make a scene. Apparently, each point equals RM1 so they asked for RM100. I had to give them RM30 before they let me leave.

Anon –
I helped 2 women who claimed they lost a wallet at KLCC. They approached me, saying they have no money to go home and asked if I can lend them some money for a cab. They promised to return the money to me once they reached home, then blocked me immediately after they left. They definitely took advantage of my kindness. I was young and foolish.

Ivan Wong
 – Was pumping petrol at Petronas. One Chinese uncle approached me and tried to sell me a high-end smartphone for RM300.

I tested the phone and it was okay. After I paid him, he somehow managed to switch the phone to a dummy or fake phone. After he left, I tried to turn on the power but it failed. Took it to a phone shop and found out the phone is all filled with metal inside.

He was good, because while I was withdrawing money from ATM at the petrol station, I still have the real phone with me. It’s only after I handed him the cash that he quickly switched it into a dummy set. I think he did it while he removed his old sim card.

Iman Anne
 –
 Gores & Menang scam. I was at an LRT station when somebody approached me. I scratched and the scam team there were all cheering saying that I won a Honda Civic. Obviously I was happy. When I ask about getting the car, they said I must pay RM6k for tax first to take the car. I left.

What scams have you encountered in Malaysia?

Share them in the comments section so the rest of us can learn and see how prevalent scams are. I hope you realise you have to be aware of many types of scams, not just Macau scams.

If there’s one thing you should know, it’s that scams in Malaysia are exceptionally common, and it just takes one slip, a temporary lapse in judgement to fall for it. That’s why Macau scams still exists – it only takes one error.

Also, always remember to check with the authorities or the organisations named for confirmation before you pay – whether it’s for protection, charity, or even a penalty. It’s an extra effort that may potentially save you, and your money, in the long run.

Read
here to find out more about PIDM’s services when do you actually need to contact them
.


13 Malaysians Share How They Diversify Investments

What did you pick as your first investment? Your second? Third? And so on?

As always, when I got curious about anything personal finance, I turn to the crowd. I asked the RoR Facebook community about their first, second and third investments. How did they interpret the common advice to ‘diversify your investments’,
and how does the order look like?

Here are some of the replies. Thank you to everyone who agreed to have your answers compiled and posted here. Scroll all the way to the end for my 2 cents on the topic.

Malaysians And Their Investments

Anung Un Rama

First investment:
Gold
 – because it’s easy to buy and sell

Second investment:
ASB
 and
Tabung Haji
 fund – I took them because they are low-risk and safe investments

Third investment: (In planning)
Property

—

Denion Lee

First investment:
Fixed Deposit
. I use it as a buffer for emergency funds and will liquidate this when I need it for contingency purpose. I don’t want my extra funds to just sit in the normal savings account, thus FD.

Second investment:
ASB
 – To me, ASB is an alternative to EPF, just its not for only retirement purpose. I will liquidate it for certain financial goals in life, for example, education funds for my kids.

Third investment:
Unit Trust
 – It is not easy to buy ASB. Unit trust is more accessible, plus the choice of risk level is wide, from low to high-risk funds. For my unit trust investment, I go for balanced-high risk portfolio for my current financial goals that are at least 10 years away. Longer investment horizon allows me to take higher risk. I treat it as a place whereby my funds are locked here and letting it grow.

—

Alan ‘Jordy’ Toh

First investment:
Stock Market
. I have been trading in stocks since 14. Over the decades, I have had my fair share of hits and misses (often times bigger misses than hits). Though the journey wasn’t a very pleasant one, but investing in financially stable and fundamentally strong companies have given me the best returns in terms of passive income. It will be the main vehicle to fund my retirement.

Second investment:
EPF
. It is a no-brainer for those with no access to ASB. At an average CAGR of 6%, it is the next best capital-guaranteed fund to be invested for the long-term. The fund will provide the additional boost to my retirement funds when I reach the withdrawal age at 55.

Third investment:
Passive Business
.
Setting up a business that could complement my retirement income is the third on my list. The business should not occupy too much of my retirement time. I have been operating my e-commerce store (AJ Group Marketing) on several popular platforms as a side hustle since 2014, and so far the results have been encouraging. The business has garnered quite a substantial following as I put customer service as the top priority. I hope to sustain the income generated from this business throughout my retirement years.

—

Jason Arvin Tan

First investment:
Stocks
 – I love investing in stocks, simply because it gives out good returns for short/long term if invested properly. The advantages of stocks investment is that it helps my money to grow in various ways which are through capital appreciation, dividends or right issues when a particular company does well financially. Moreover, stocks are one of the assets which are highly liquid. If I need some money for an emergency, I could sell off my stocks and withdraw money within few days. I can’t do the same if I owned lands or properties.

Second
investment:
EPF
 – Even though I’m just 24, I have started to plan and save out early for my retirement through EPF account. If we look at the past 10 years records, EPF gives us an average of 6% return per annum, which is good compared to an average savings account. The earlier I save, the more I gain when I retire!

Third investment:
Currencies
– I always look to buy foreign currencies when I have some extra money in hand, The reason I buy foreign currencies is to protect the value of our weakening ringgit. This strategy of investment is also called hedging! Other than that I feel the thrill of owning different denominations of currencies

—

Tya Shatirah
 from

www.nakweekend.com
–

First investment:
Gold
 saving started from my parent who buy me gold bracelet and neckless. Now I add couple sets of them for investment purpose

Second investment:
ASB
 – started from my mom opening an account and putting in RM50 every month. I continue the practice until now.

Third investment:
Property
 – for rental income purposes

—

Alex B Day

First investment: I’m starting investment with
ASNB
 through ASB-financing & ASB2-financing. Sacrified some of my income applying asbf, slowly max out asb2f. The ROI are not bad expecially when include principle return plus can serve as emergency fund too. Currently, I’m just letting them compound interest.

Second investment:
Stock
 – For capital gains and dividend returns. Currently I’m more into REITS while searching/learning other stocks to invest in

Third investment:
ETF
 through robo-advisory platforms. Low fee, less headache to manage

—

Scha Afni

First investment:
KPF
 (Koperasi Permodalan Felda) –  Open for Felda settlers including family and Felda staff. It has
7-10
% investments return

Second investment:
EPF
 since 2005. I’m lucky as my  company contribution is quiet high compare to other company around 16% while my contribution is 11%

Third
investment:
Other Amanah saham
 such as ASBN and ASW2020. I have Tabung Haji as well – registered my name for hajj with minimum deposit of RM1300.

—

Nur Hidayah Abu Bakar

First investment:
ASB
 – because its low risk, has consistent dividend, ease of transaction, long-term

Second investment:
Property
 – medium risk, high CA/CF, medium to long-term, requires a lot of cash

Third investment:
Gold
 – sturdy against inflation, ease of requirement, long-term

—

Ayla Kosmonova

First
investment:
ASB
 – my parents help me to open up since i was a lil kid, maxed up ASB1 years ago and now halfway to max up ASB2 without loans. I also put spare change in ASW2020.

Second
investment:
EPF
 – since I’m 17 years old, when I took factory work after SPM, while waiting to enter uni

Third
investment:
Unit trust

—

Iqbal Yusuf

First
investment:

Stock market
 – if you do your homework right, the stocks market can give you high returns over other instruments. Furthermore, one of the advantage for us retail investors is that we aren’t exposed to market risk compared to unit trust (due to their fund size), so retail investor can still outperform the market even when the index go down, except in recession

Second
investment:
ASNB
 – no risk of capital loss, with at least 5-6% return per year. Knowing the risk of losing money in stock market teaches me a lot about ‘risk’ in investing. An investment with literally 0% chance of losing money with that 5-6% is kinda big deal.

Third investment:
Human capital
 – The best form of capital is human capital. I believe that even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can still ‘invest’ by reading books, taking courses wether offline or online (Edx & Coursera)

—

Lim John

First investment:
 Cryptocurrency
 – its
easy to get started on crypto

Second investment:
ETF
 –
which is also easy to set up

Third
investment:
Stocks
 –
Invest stock last is because of open a CDS account is very troublesome

—

Justin Kumaran

First investment:
Unit trust

Second
investment:
ASM
. First and second investments are my foundations

Third
investment:
Stocks
, for a bit more aggression

—

Suraya Zainudin
 (that’s me!)

First investment:
EPF
. I started working (as a telemarketeer) at 17, and part of my pay went to this retirement fund. At first I hated having my own money taken from me automatically, but after a while I was thankful of the system. Not every country forces employers to contribute an additional 13% out of their own pocket towards employees’ future.

Second
investment:
ASB
. Found out that it’s a no-brainer so I opened an account. Soon after that I applied for a 25-year RM50k ASB financing loan.

Third
investment:
Gold
. It was my first taste of ‘speculative’ investment. Covered this in more detail in the
What You Should Know About Gold Prices In 2008-2018
 article

My 2 cents

First of all, remember that the sample size is fairly small. Including my own, there are only 13 examples compiled here, and less than 20 overall (
go to the FB mini-forum thread to see more answers
). Nonetheless, there are some interesting observations.

Observation #1 – Some investments are more popular than others

A significant number of many Malaysians’ first three investments are these 5 types of investments:

Fixed Deposit

Mutual Funds/Unit Trust – which appeared in the form of ASB (dan sewaktu dengannya), EPF, PRS, Tabung Haji, etc

Stocks

Gold

Property

The reason why they are chosen more often over other types of investments is simple: they have history and solid reputation. That’s important in the investing world, especially if you’re just starting out.

I covered more about these investments in the
Pros & Cons List of 5 Popular Investments in Malaysia
 article

For other investment options available for Malaysians, check out the
What can you invest with RM1000?
 article

Observation #2 – Gender differences

It’s interesting to see the gender difference. From the replies, you can see how women tend to be more conservative, while men tend to make riskier investments.

Which investing style is better for the long-term?
Women’s
. Ironically,
men are more emotional when making investment decisions
.

Men reading this,
calm your ego
 if it flares up. This information may save you from huge debt or bankruptcy, and by extension, saving you from broken marriages and even suicide in extreme cases (remember the statistics how many divorces are caused by financial troubles? Yeah). My intention is to help. Accept the help, because those situations are too painful for words, and prevention is better than cure.

As for women, know that (1) our natural preference for low-risk opportunities is great, but that also means we lose out a lot in high-risk-high-rewards opportunities, which men tend to take (and sometimes pays off, big time), and (2)
you are better at investing than you think
.

Observation #3 – ‘Investment’ has a different meaning for some people

My original question asked how Malaysians diversify investments. What I didn’t expect was a few replies which interpreted the question a bit more creatively.  Some readers gave these type of answers:

Investing in own business

Investing in learning and self-development

Investing in relationships

They’re not technically investment vehicles, but I love it. Yes, you’re so right, those are worthwhile investments to make!

Observation #4 – Personal interest in a specific investment makes it fun!

Some of you mentioned how your interest in a particular investment vehicle – the stocks market, for example – made you more excited to learn all you can about it. I think that’s really cool! It *is* a lot more fun when you’re enjoying what you’re investing or trading in!

I guess this supports the theories in the
12 Types of Investment Available in Malaysia and The People Who Have Them
 article. Some people have traits which makes them more likely to prefer one investment vehicle over another.

—

Well, those were my three observations. What do you think? What were YOUR first three investments? How do YOU diversify investments? Take one min to share what you think 🙂


24 Malaysians Share Their Uncommon Unexpected Expenses

Unexpected expenses suck. They suck so much. They suck more than vacuum cleaners.

The worst part is
you can’t avoid them
. You can
minimise
 them, sure. You can
budget them in
. You can
 set up an emergency savings fund
. But you can never avoid them altogether.

As far as I can tell, there are two reasons why you can’t avoid them: (1) Life’s too unpredictable and (2) You
might
 do something stupid (like I did, when I punctured a hole in my freezer while trying to chip away the ice buildup. I’M MAD BECAUSE THIS IS THE SECOND FRIDGE I RUINED THIS WAY)

When I asked the RoR Facebook and Twitter community about
their
 unexpected expenses, I got a bunch of replies. I was surprised (was I though?) that many unexpected expenses were
 car-related
! You told me about how you need to do major repairs after getting into accidents, need to replace batteries and alternators, need to fix the aircon, need to get new tyres, need to settle unexpected summons, and more.

A smaller number of you mentioned
home ownership-related expenses
 too. Some had to fix leaked rooftops, some needed toilet repairs done.

What are other unexpected expenses aside from car and home-related expenses?
Much more than you think
. I compiled some of the other answers here so you get to see how unexpected expenses look like for the average Malaysian.

#1 – Medical expenses of loved ones and pets

1) My 16-year-old felt uncomfortable around her throat area on Sunday night. We had Assam Laksa for lunch and I thought perhaps a tiny bone was stuck in her throat. The discomfort went on for a few days. She had a little shortness of breath, on and off, and she said she felt nauseous after a meal. However, no weird pain when she swallowed.

I took her to a clinic in Hartamas. Doc couldn’t find anything wrong, however he gave me a referral letter just in case I wanted to go to the hospital. The next day my daughter said she was feeling really uncomfortable so I took her to Pantai Hospital. The doctor did both check-up and X-Rays but couldn’t find anything.

She wrote us a referral letter to another hospital in case we needed more details on throat and surgery option. I told my daughter let’s take the medication, antibiotics for any infections and some lozenges. My daughter was still dissatisfied. The next day she said she felt worse discomfort in her throat and after school I took her to another doctor a GP in Bangsar.

It turns out my daughter had… the flu. She was down with a sore throat and flu the same night and out for 3 days or so. Being a single mom isn’t easy especially when dealing with a teenager.

In total, I paid RM700+ out of pocket.
 My daughter has insurance but I’m unsure if I can claim from her insurance, since we never found anything. I paid using my credit card, and planned to pay for the unexpected medical expense by selling one of my branded bags (I’m a reseller of new and mainly Preloved luxury handbags).

Fortunately, like the universe was listening to me, out of the blue a lady from my Instagram account contacted and inquired about my Fendi handbag. I met her yesterday, she bought the bag, I made a profit and can now pay for that unexpected medical expense! – Audsterbee

2) Baby Aryan’s additional vaccination shot. Not compulsory but doctor recommended.
RM 700 for the additional vaccination shot
. – Razin Adha

3)

My little Freya jatuh dari tingkat 3, total cost surgery and everything
almost RM6k
. And maybe more sebab kena buat review 2-3 kali lagi
pic.twitter.com/RRjVwzjeJ8

— . (@loltfjustjk_)
March 23, 2019

#2 – Pressured into paying more for meals

4) I had this unexpected
expense
 when my
date
 was discussing about what’s a dealbreaker for our future partner. He said he wanted a woman that can financially support him. I thought that was okay.. to each their own. When it was time to leave, he told the cashier that I’m paying since apparently it was his birthday. The cashier just looked at me and
 I had to pay RM40
 because I was embarrassed. Later, I got my money back after asking for it. So just be prepared to have some money in occasions like this – Sya

5) Went to Ikan Bakar Jalan Bellamy a couple of days ago. Took sotong + nasi putih + kuah. Total bill was
RM26 per person
. Was expecting around RM15..dang – Haris Halim

6)
RM50 lunch
. I tagged along with my co-workers. Usually we go for RM6-20 lunch. By the time we reached our destination, the food there were at least RM30 per portion. SO OKAY LA I SHUT ONE EYE ABOUT IT AND CRY INTERNALLY. By the time to pay for our food, the TAX went up to each RM20 per person. I cried internally even more. The thing is, we were also getting free dinner that night. I thought I was able to save money that day but ended up spending a week’s worth of lunch. – Sherinaz Basree

7)
Midnight hunger.
 The kedai burger tepi jalan tu kata ada burger dah siap dia terbuat lebih and its a oblong double special. I just help him by taking it. Hmm.. Usual one would be RM4..
This one is RM11
! – Zaim

#3 – Broken gadgets

8) Repairing
washing machine
 once last 2 weeks and it broke again..
RM150 first and will fork again
 the same sum again later.
 And then it turns out the panel board is spoiled 🙁 – Shamini

9) Dropped my friend’s
drone into the sea
. Had to
ganti balik RM1,100
 – Muhtaram

10) I bought a
Lenovo laptop charger
, and guess what? The new one has issues, too. So, I asked for a refund and went to the post office to send the charger back to the seller and then, I ordered a new charger from a different seller. Overall, I didn’t really lose money this way, but I did
lose time
. – Anwar

11)
Cat bit my Macbook charger
. A replacement costs $80,
about RM300
. My housemate’s Macbook charger got bit too. Twice, hence double the suffering – Rushdi

12)
Unifi route broke down
, have to pick between
paying RM400
 something or get it for free (but extend contract for another 2 years). Either way still shit – Zul Hafiz

13) A new phone haha my old phone suddenly broke and never functioning again. – nonosan

14) Dropped the smart phone and forced to get a smarter one.. – Sky

15) My phone suddenly died and I have to get a new one. Painful. – Lady Pineapple

#4 – Sudden travel expenses

16)
Flight ticket back to Subang
. Suddenly need to go to Kelantan to accompany my sister for her uni registration. Had to go back to Subang the next day for work – Ahmad Taufeq

17) At Ho Chi Minh airport, I was told I had to
check in my backpack
 before I could board the plane.
USD40
. They have a bunting next to the counter that says hand carry bag + laptop bag/handbag cannot exceed 7kg. The lady said combined looks like exceeded. In Malaysia, the bunting says hand carry bag can’t exceed 7kg. No mention of weight of laptop or handbag. – Khor Hui Min

#5 – Theft & Lost items

18)
Shoes got stolen
, so needed to get a new ones. Some delinquents climbed over gate and took all the shoes that we’re on the rack outside. We now keep all the good shoes inside the house – Aki

19)
 Lost my wallet
 when I was out and about. With the amount of cash in it, the cost of replacing all the different cards (RM110 for IC, RM10-50 each for credit cards, member cards etc.), and the value of the wallet itself, I guess I purchased a very expensive lesson. – Lim Chooi Yen

#6 – A sudden celebration

20)

Bday present for a 24YO niece… Totally forgot about it until the very last minute…
pic.twitter.com/c3cjALh7VH

— razakzainal (@razakzainal2)
March 22, 2019

21) Somebody’s getting married and I
need a suit
 – Amir

22)
Superheroes costume
 for kids birthday party – Najib

#7 – Paying back debt

23) Kawan tiba2 dtg dan tuntut
hutang lama
 yg sy pun lupa. – Kruz

24) To
 settle the debt of the dead
. My late dad. A loan of RM50k. I’m the eldest and didn’t want to worry other siblings. Lucky that I manage to schedule the payment instead of paying lump sum. Settled half. Another half to go. Wish me luck! – Adzra

What was YOUR latest unexpected expenses?

Did it fit into any of the above categories? Or is it something completely unexpected? Share with us in the comments section!


Malaysians Share Actual Unpopular Opinions About Money

It all started when I posted this on Ringgit Oh Ringgit’s Facebook and Twitter page:

It got some pretty freaking amazing answers. Rather than losing them forever in social media, I thought I’d compile them and turn it into unpopular opinions: money edition-article. Thank you so much for everyone who gave me permission to post their answers here.

Here are some unpopular opinions about money, in no particular order:

#1 – ASB and EPF will no longer deliver high returns

The Pelham Blue Fund
 – There is no way ASB and EPF will be able to deliver +5.5% p.a. dividends each year in the next 5 years, simply due to ever larger deposits and lower market returns.
There will be a point where ASB yields can no longer offset interest charges on ASB loans.

Take the EPF: It currently has RM800bil in assets. To ensure dividends of 5%, it needs to generate RM40 billion in income (profits) every year. When it hits RM1 trillion, the income needed goes up to RM50 billion. The fund’s investments are still predominantly in stocks. When the stock market falls, there’s an income shortfall that has to be met as the portfolio value declines. It’s bloody difficult to generate an extra RM10 billion in pure profits in any given year, of course.

At the same time, more and more deposits are coming in. Simply put: achieving 5% returns is easier when you have RM500 billion in assets, compared to RM1 trillion. That’s what yields tend to do: they narrow when asset size grows AND when markets go bad. We have both of these in abundance right now.

Lastly, if you see these funds delivering above 5% returns at a time when the stock market is in decline (the KLCI has fallen 11% over the past five years), then your dividends are not reflecting actual returns. Some creative accounting may be going on.

Just look at what happened with Tabung Haji.

#2 – Channel money into EPF investment early in life

Edmund Ngo
 – Making extra contributions individually into EPF during your early single working days. This would leverage on the dividends and compounding effect.

It’s unpopular because people say:

The money should be used for investment,

You can’t touch it if you need it for an emergency,

The govt is the one managing our EPF money

Retirement is sooo far ahead

Number 2 could be a big point, to which my suggestion is to:

Set up an emergency fund first

Contribute around RM100 to RM200 to the EPF contribution monthly for 1 -2 years

After that, redirect the money to investments

That 1 or 2 years of extra funds can snowball to something significant.

#3 – Renting property is better than buying property

Kenny Lim
 – Rent > Buy. The benefits of renting over buying:

You don’t have to wait to move in (compared to 2 to 3 years for new projects)

Your overall financial commitment is less(additional costs to buying a house include loans from the bank/deposit money/MOT/Legal and Loan fees)

Less commitments to buying a house mean more spare cash/savings for a rainy day

Hasyimi Bahrudin
 –
Home ownership is not necessarily better than renting. Which one is actually financially better for you depends on a lot of factors.
The biggest factor for me is how much flexibility do you require? If you have a career that requires you to be flexible in where you reside (e.g. you work in an industry where it’s normal to change jobs every 2-3 years), it doesn’t make sense to purchase a home and lose that flexibility.

If after 2 years, you get a job offer with much better pay, but it requires a longer commute from where you live, you either have to suck it up (and increase your expenses due to longer commute), or turn down that offer. If you rent instead, you can just move nearer to your new office a few months later (if they really want you, you can even bargain with the company to cover your relocation expenses).

Of course, understand that I am arguing that in the context of finance. In reality, there are values to purchasing a home outside the realm of finance which you don’t get from renting, such as:

Having a fixed place you can call home, especially if you have kids, since moving that often might not be a good experience for some kids

Having the freedom to do whatever you want with your house

The social status of owning a home (i.e. you get to brag about it lol)

Passing down a house over generations

If these things are valuable to you, then it makes sense to buy a house instead of renting. Just that financially it may not be the better option.

#4 – Don’t invest in fixed deposit

Spidey Jimmy
 –
Don’t need to keep money in FD. Invest in something else. Buy medical and insurance for rainy days.

#5 – Women want guys with cars

@MyManagersLife
 – Having more money does not bring more ladies unless you have a Honda Civic. This (the discussion) was happening among my friends circa 2004 – 2008.

This is the part of our lives where we discover that women don’t care much about money back then as long as you have a car (favourably a Honda) so that they can show off during 1) dates, 2) family gathering, and 3) shopping for groceries for the week. Not sure how unpopular this opinion is but somehow most of us strive to work hard in college days to own a car.

#6 – Our lives are controlled by others

Adam Mashrique
 – The people who control our money supply have more control over our lives than we are led to believe. Most people have no clue how our monetary system works, despite being obsessed with making money.

Monetary economics and the process in which new Ringgit or US Dollar is created, are taboo subjects in modern society. Knowing monetary history: how it used to work and how it works now can help a lot in preserving and expanding your wealth. Youtube has many documentaries you can start with. Here is one:

#7 – Money is meant to be spent

Anna Tan
 –  Money is meant to be spent, not hoarded. I’ve been part of societies/churches where it’s always ‘fundraise fundraise fundraise’ and ‘we can’t do that project because there are no funds’. But then they have cash in the bank/accounts they don’t use and the excuse is “must keep for in case”. WHAT CONSTITUTES AS IN CASE?!

#8 – Don’t buy insurance, buy stocks instead

Enthel Tan
 – Not my opinion, but I know of people who don’t buy insurance because they believe that the money they contribute to insurance can be better invested for a higher return on stocks. If anything major happens to them, the long-term return from the stocks will be more than what they’ve paid for the insurance to cover them.

Needless to say, this can only apply to those who know how to sound invest wisely.

Bonus #9 – Pro-Malay affirmative actions does not work

Suraya (ie Ringgit Oh Ringgit)
 – Affirmative actions designed to uplift poor Malays out of poverty does not work… because in many cases, the rich, elite Malays take those opportunities for themselves.

(And before you can say ‘oh but Malay companies hire Malay people’, please.
Even Malay-controlled companies favour non-Malay applicants
‘)

We need to go away with race-based privileges and make needs-based policies instead. Who needs financial help and support? Give it to them, racial background be damned.

What is YOUR unpopular opinion about money?

I want to know 1) what you think of the above unpopular opinions, 2) your counter-arguments, if you disagree with them, and 3) other unpopular opinions about money that you may have. The more unpopular, the better.

Go on, ruffle some feathers. I dare you.


Only RM10 a month! How to Apply for Housewives’ Social Security Scheme or SKSSR under SOCSO/PERKESO

Housewives’ Social Security Scheme
 or Skim Keselamatan Sosial Suri Rumah – from hereon will be referred to as SKSSR – is a new scheme under PERKESO designed especially for
housewives
 women.

I modified it to women because upon checking the page, the definition used is quite wide – A housewife is defined as ‘a
 woman whether married or unmarried, who manages the household on a full-time or part-time basis, including a wife, mother, divorcee, widow or a single mother.
‘

That, to me, means almost every woman out there, does it not?

After studying the benefits, I think SKSSR is an
excellent
 scheme for women who do a lot of domestic work, including but not limited to:

Going grocery shopping

Sending children to school

Etc

If the women get hurt while doing these work, they are entitled to many types of health and medical benefits. Amazingly,
pre-existing illnesses are covered
 (T&C applies) and the men get some benefits as well.

Let’s cover the benefits in…

Benefits under Housewives’ Social Security Scheme/ Skim Keselamatan Sosial Suri Rumah/ SKSSR

The women subscribed to SKSSR get two main types of benefits:
Domestic Accident Protection Benefits
 and
Invalidity Protection Benefits
.

I have combined the information contained in both SKSSR
website
 and
booklet
 and compiled the benefits given under this social security scheme below (all information are accurate as of writing time):

Domestic Accident Protection Benefits

1.
Medical Benefit
– Housewives affected by domestic accidents may seek
medical treatment and outpatient treatment
 at hospitals, clinics or other institutions. She is entitled to
second-class ward in government hospitals

2.
Permanent Disablement Benefit
– Housewives who suffer one or more permanent disabilities arising from domestic accidents, may apply and shall be entitled to a
lump sum payment (up to RM30,000)
 upon recommendation of a medical assessor or Appellate Medical Board

3.
Constant Attendance Allowance
 – A sum of
RM250 to be paid monthly
 to housewives who receive Permanent Disablement Benefit or Morbid Allowance as a result of severe incapacity to the extent that personal care of other people is constantly required.

Housewives will be eligible recipients of this allowance upon recommendation of a medical assessor or Appellate Medical Board. Payment of allowance will cease when the housewife reaches the age of 55 or dies.

4.
Funeral Benefit
– A
one-off funeral benefit of RM2,000
 shall be paid to eligible dependants in the event that the insured housewife dies before reaching the age of 55.

5.
Physical Rehabilitation or Dialysis Facilities
* –
Financing up to RM50,000
 shall be provided to eligible housewives after being certified as having permanent disability or invalidity by a medical assessor or Appellate Medical Board for physical rehabilitation such as prosthetics, wheelchair, cane and others.

A
sum of RM200 shall be paid monthly
 for dialysis facilities.

*Subject to Akta Fi 1951, whichever is lowest.

*Note: As of writing time, it appears the information for
Physical Rehabilitation or Dialysis Facilities
 is different in website and in booklet. I followed the booklet.

6.
Survivors’ Pension
 – In the event that a housewife dies as a result of a domestic accident or while receiving Morbid Allowance, provided death occurs before the age of 55, a
sum of RM300 shall be paid monthly
 as Survivors’ Pension to her eligible dependants – including her widower until he reaches the age of 55 or dies, and to each child up to the age of 21 or until they are married.

If the deceased housewife leaves behind no widower or  child, the pension shall be paid to the mother or father until the age of 55 or dies.

Survivors’ Pension will continue to be paid to children who are studying until they complete their first degree or until they are married. This pension shall be paid continuously to mentally or physically disabled children who are unable to support themselves, until the age of 55.

Invalidity Protection Benefits

1)
Morbid Allowance
 – A sum of
RM300 to be paid monthly
 to housewives who suffer from disability upon recommendation of a medical assessor or Appellate Medical Board. Housewives shall be considered disabled as a result of an accident which leaves her unable to carry out most of her household activities.

Payment of this allowance shall cease when the housewife recovers from the disability or when she reaches the age of 55 or dies.

2)
Constant Attendance Allowance
 – Same benefits as under Domestic Accident Protection Benefits

3)
Physical Rehabilitation or Dialysis Facilities
 – Same benefits as under Domestic Accident Protection Benefits

4)
Funeral Benefit
 – Same benefits as under Domestic Accident Protection Benefits

5)
Survivors’ Pension
 – Same benefits as under Domestic Accident Protection Benefits

In case you’re not familiar with protection products, let me just tell you that
the variety of coverage is EXCELLENT
. The sum may be on the lower side, but that’s what you get for the price.

Speaking of the price, it’s very affordable.

Cost of SKSSR, how to pay and who pays

This social security scheme costs
RM120 per year, paid in advance.
Effectively, that’s ONLY RM10 per month! For that variety of benefits!

My personal opinion is,
if one can’t afford to pay insurance/takaful for the women in his life, then The Housewives’ Social Security Scheme / Skim Keselamatan Sosial Suri Rumah / SKSSR is the next best option
.

Payments can be made at:

Online payment at
suri.perkeso.gov.my
 portal (here’s the
step-by-step
; in Malay)

Payment at PERKESO counter together with completed SR 1 Registration Form

The following people can pay on behalf of the housewife:

The husband (he needs to agree, because ‘once in always in’ concept applies. No backsies for next years’ payments unless in cases of divorce or lost his income)

The housewife herself (married or otherwise)

Anyone else including brothers, fathers and NGOs (Suraya’s note: Nowhere does it says the payer must be a man, so women can take for fellow women as well)

What’s the catch?

To me, SKSSR is good, take it, but there are 3 catch that I can see:

1) If husband pays for his wife, and later refuses to continue payment, he could be
fined not more than RM10,000, jailed not more 2 years or both
.

(I think this is meant to be a deterrent for non-payment, but still a bit weird. Either way, if no longer afford to pay due to lost income, he can submit request and the fine will no longer apply).

(It’s a shame if husbands decide against taking SKSSR for their wives just because of this clause. However, he could simply give her an additional RM120 per year so she could subscribe to SKSSR herself.)

2) This social security scheme is
only eligible for Malaysian women/ PR under the age of 55 years old
.

3) The women are only covered for
domestic incidences happening in Malaysia
, not overseas.

There may be more catch that personally apply to you. Please refer to the
FAQ document
.

Social Security Schemes under SOCSO/PERKESO

For further information, including how to make claims under Housewives’ Social Security Scheme or Skim Keselamatan Sosial Suri Rumah, please refer to the
SKSSR website
.

Please also find out other social security schemes under SOCSO/PERKESO. If you are self-employed, do learn
How to Apply for SOCSO / PERKESO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme
 (also has great benefits).

Share this article to people in your life who may be able to benefit from the scheme. Take care and until next time!


How to Register SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme [80%-100% Subsidy Available!]

I enrolled myself in the PERKESO/ SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme!!!

(By the way: PERKESO = Pertubuhan Keselamatan Social = Social Security Organisation = SOCSO)

This is so exciting. SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme was previously only available for the Passenger Transportation Sector (ie e-Hailing drivers), but as of January 2020 have since been extended to cover 19 more informal sectors.

Scroll further down to see the sectors and types of professions eligible for enrollment.

Benefits Under SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme

The benefits under SOCSO Self-employment Social Security Scheme are
really
 good. According to the website:

This Scheme provides protection for self-employed insured persons against
employment injuries including occupational diseases and accidents during work-related activities.

Self-employment injury
 means personal injury to self-employed insured person caused by an
accident or an occupational disease
 arising out of and in the course of his or her self-employment activity
 including while travelling for the purpose of his or her self-employment activity
.

Occupational disease
 is a
 disease caused by or arising from any occupation
specified in the Fifth Schedule of the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969. This scheme provides
cash benefits to the insured persons and their dependants besides medical treatment, physical rehabilitation and vocational training.

(Note: I’m not quite sure of how this works exactly, since I
work
at home,
and
all the time
. Does that mean I’m covered at home and at all times? Ah well what’s important is I get myself covered first. Can always argue for my claim later.)

To break it down further, the benefits you get from SOCSO Self-employment Social Security Scheme include:

Medical
 Benefit – FREE MEDICAL TREATMENT

Temporary Disablement
 Benefit – Get $$$ daily if you’re on medical leave

Permanent Disablement
 Benefit – Get $$$ lump sum if you get permanently disabled

Constant Attendance
 Allowance – Get RM500/month if you get permanently disabled

Dependant’s
 Benefit – Dependents get $$$ monthly if you kiok while working

Funeral
 Benefit – Get up to RM2k for funeral costs

Education
 Benefit – Your child get education loan if you kiok or permanently disabled

Facilities for
physical or vocational rehabilitation
 – Get free rehab (physical and vocational)

Note: the above have been simplified for easy reading. Refer to the pamphlet below for extended explanation under each benefit

To be fair, you can get many of these benefits via a comprehensive insurance plan. But that takes a lot of research and you have to plan to meet a few agents (you need to compare and shop around and find an agent you can trust!!), which is a deterrent for many people, including yours truly.

By comparison, SOCSO Self-employment Social Security Scheme is
so easy to enrol online
 – I did mine in ~20 minutes.
You’re immediately covered right after you paid
.

Thus, for that reason, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND
self-employed individuals, especially sole breadwinners
 to enrol in SOCSO Self-employment Social Security Scheme. It’s such an easy way to care for your family.

As quoted
 by SOCSO chief executive Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed,

“For instance, if the self-employed (married) chose Option 4 and paid RM592.80 for a year, and later was involved in an accident during the course of employment and passes away,
his wife would get a maximum monthly pension of RM3,555 for life
.

“If the contributor who passed away had a
disabled child, he or she would be covered for the rest of their lives
”

How Much is SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme

The higher your insured monthly earning, the higher your contribution per month/year. There are four plans, ranging from RM13.10 to RM49.40 contribution per month:

Plan
Insured Monthly Earning
Contribution Payment Per Month
Contribution Payment Per Year
1
RM1,050
RM13.10
RM157.20
2
RM1,550
RM19.40
RM232.80
3
RM2,950
RM36.90
RM442.80
4
RM3,950
RM49.40
RM592.80

Personally, when this SOCSO for self-employed scheme came out, I took Plan 3 and paid for 1 year* (the maximum allowable). Later, I took Plan 2 to take advantage of the Matching Grant subsidy by government (see further down below for subsidy info – 80%-100% subsidy)

*You can also pay monthly, in between (3 months, 11 months etc). They say they will send you a reminder before your contribution expires.

How to Register for SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme

To register for SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme, you have to:

Register at
matrix.perkeso.gov.my
,

Fill and submit a form, and

Pay

(Repeat payment next month/year for continuous protection)

Again, everything is very simple – it took me ~20 minutes (I had all my documents on-hand). The user experience is really good and intuitive. They also have a
Quick Start Guide
 and Youtube video to show the processes.

After you registered, you will see the Dashboard. Click Register to view the
 form-filling section.

Minor issue (for me): Selecting Sector and Class

In this process, you have to select your Sector and Class.
Selecting Sector and Class is straightforward if your type of work is directly listed (see below section) or slightly confusing if it’s not
.

For example, I wasn’t sure if I should select:

‘Art Sector: Writer’, OR

‘Information Technology Sector: Website’, OR

‘Online Business Sector: Service’, OR

‘Support Services Sector: Owner of business sole proprietor or partnership’

In the end I selected the last one as it seemed to be most appropriate for my line of work – online and offline communications, including writing, speaking and marketing services.

What if you work in 2 different sectors?

If you work in two different sectors – insurance agent by day and Grab driver by night, for example – and want to be covered under both instances, then
you have to submit two forms
, one for ‘Agent Sector: Insurance’ and another for ‘Passenger Transport Sector: Grab driver’.

And you have to make two contributions I guess (someone confirm this).

Here is a list of all the sectors covered under SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme, the professions (Class) and required documents. At the time of writing, self-employed individuals working in these 20 sectors are eligible for enrolment.

Sectors Covered Under SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme

#1 – Sector: Accommodation

Class:

Homestay

Chalet

Motel

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License / Permit From Related Agency

#2 – Sector: Agent

Class:

Insurance

Real estate

Currency Changer

Direct Selling

Self-Employment Scheme

Zakat Officer

Remisier

Product

Required Documents:
Identification Letter; Agreement / Offer / Agent Card

#3 – Sector: Agriculture

Class:

Vegetable and fruit

Palm oil

Rubber

Paddy

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Approval From Related Agency

#4 – Sector: Art

Class:

Celebrities

Singer

Actress

Musician

Dancer

Production Crew

Handicraft

Painter

Photographer

Busker

Extra Actor

Writer

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Certificate / Registration Letter From Association

#5 – Sector: Beauty & Healthcare

Class:

Massager

Tradition Medicine Practitioner

Midwife

Makeup / Makeover Artist

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Certificate / Registration Letter From Association

#6 – Sector: Construction

Class:

Construction

Maintenance

Wiring

Plumbing

Renovation

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License / Permit / Certificate From Related Agency

#7 – Sector: Data Processing

Class:

Census / Survey

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Offer Letter

#8 – Sector: Fishery

Class:

Fishermen

Aquaculture

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License / Permit

#9 – Sector: Food

Class:

Preparation

Waiter

Seller

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Permit / Offer Letter

#10 – Sector: Forestry

Class:

Harvesting Forest Product

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Validation From Association / Community Leader

#11 – Sector: Goods and Foods Transport

Class:

Car

Motorcycle

Lorry

Van

Bicycle

Required Documents:
Driving License; Permit / GDL License / E-Hailing Profile

#12 – Sector: Hawker

Class:

Market

Stall / Kiosk

Food Truck

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License / Permit From Related Agency

#13 – Sector: Household Services

Class:

Part Time Caregiver / Nanny

Housekeeping

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Certificate / Registration Letter From Association

#14 – Sector: Information Technology

Class:

Website

Mobile Application

System Maintenance

Network

System Security

Data Centre

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Professional Certificate

#15 – Sector: Livestock

Class:

Breeder

Livestock Product

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License/ permit

#16 – Sector: Manufacturing

Class:

Wood Product

Fabric Product

Plastic Product

Chemical Product

Metal Product

Soil Product

Required Documents:
Identification Card; License / Permit From Related Agency

#17 – Sector: Online Business

Class:

Clothes

Food

Cosmetic

Medicine

Service

Spare Part

Furniture

Electric

Electronic

Required Documents:
Identification Card; SSM License

#18 – Sector: Passenger Transport

Class:

Taxi Driver

Grab Driver

Hired Car Driver

Other E-Hailing Driver

School Bus Driver

Factory Bus Driver

Other Bus Driver

Required Documents:
Driving License; Driver’s Card, Permission Letter, or E-Hailing Driver’s Profile Screenshot

#19 – Sector: Professional Services

Class:

Lawyer

Accountant

Auditor

Tax Consultant

Architect

Engineer

Research and Development

Designer

Veterinary

Pharmacist

Psychiatrist

Dentist

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Professional Certificate

#20 – Sector: Support Services

Class:

Tour Guide

Mountain Guide

Tutor

Maintenance

Coach

Owner of business sole proprietor or partnership

Digital Economy Services

Required Documents:
Identification Card; Certificate / License From Related Agency / SSM / Application Profile

How to register for SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme for 80% of 100% off

As of May 2023, those eligible can register for SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme for 80% of 100% off under 2 schemes:

SPS Padanan Caruman or Matching Grant – You pay 20% (RM 46.60), Government pay 80% (RM232.80)

SPS Madani – Government pay 100%

There are limited number of allocation under each assistance, so see if you’re eligible and if yes, quickly sign up for it!

Eligibility for SPS Padanan Caruman or Matching Grant (80% off)

You get 80% subsidised from SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme and only pay RM 46.60 FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR OF PROTECTION if you are:

Self-employed person who do the work under
agriculture sector
 including plantation to earn a living

Orang Asli ethnic groups
 in Peninsular, Orang Asal ethnic Sabah & Sarawak who are self-employed to earn a living

Self-employed people who works as an
educator, industrial training students, instructor, tutor, religious instructor, counselor, motivational specialist

Self-employed person who uses
digital applications under Service Platform Provider
 (SPP) to provide services to customers. Examples of digital applications are passenger transport applications, delivery of goods or food, holiday rentals, etc (Suraya’s note: this should include
ehailing drivers/ riders, AirBnB hosts
 etc)

Self-employed person who do the work in the
hawker sector
 to earn a living

Self-employed person who do the work under the
fishery sector
 including aquaculture to earn a living

People with Disabilities (OKU)
who are self-employed to earn a living and owned an OKU Card

Self-employed person who do the work in the
art sector
 to earn a living.

Household Services Sector, Professional Services Sector, Accommodation Premises, Data Processing, Mountain Guides, Tourist Guides, All Volunteers, contract for service (non-executive), Security Officers, Information Technology, Support Services Sector –
Registered Sole Proprietorship with SSM
.

All Malaysian sports
 including traditional sports, e-sports, coaches, professional level sportsmen, students under the sponsorship of MSN, SILAT athletics.

Self-employed person with
gender “Perempuan”
 as stated in the National Malaysia Identity Card (MyKad or MyPR).

Eligibility for SPS Madani (100% off)

You get 100% subsidised from SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme if you are:

Employees with
contract status under Contract for Services
. Only applicable for Public servants. The SPS application coverage under the program can only be made through the respective agencies.

Self-employed person who works as
supervisors & rehabilitation workers in the community
. The SPS application coverage under the program can only be made through the respective agencies.

Religious Affiliation which is administered by JAKIM
for the category of imam, bilal, guru takmir, noja, siak and merbut. The SPS application coverage under the program can only be made through JAKIM.

Self-employed person who are uniform volunteers
 under Malaysian Armed Forces, Malaysia Civil Defense Force, Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Maritime Agency, Malaysian Volunteer Corps Department, Fire and Rescue and KKM Volunteer.

For more info on these schemes, go to
matrix.perkeso.gov.my
 and click on the SKSPS Budget Initiative 2023 button.

Would you enrol in the SOCSO Self-Employment Social Security Scheme?

Like I said earlier, I’m not particularly sure how my line of work – communications – will look like as self-employment injury or occupational disease. But it is now included in one of the sectors, so they must have thought it through, so that self-employed people like me (and maybe you) can benefit from it.

Are you
self-employed
? What are your thoughts on it? Would you enrol yourself in this scheme or there are better options out there? I think its a shame if you don’t take advantage of it, especially if you can get it for 80% or 100% subsidised!

How about claiming? Have any of you tried it? How was it? Easy or hard? Share your thoughts and experience in the comments section below. If this article was useful, please share it, thanks!

Registration link so you don’t have to scroll all the way up:
matrix.perkeso.gov.my

If you are a woman, you may also enroll for the
Housewives’ Social Security Scheme
, also under SOCSO/PERKESO. You do NOT have to be a full-time housewife to benefit from this.


Answering All 45 Questions from #Hann&Suraya: Personal Finance ChitChat (BNM/FEN Collab)

On 28 October 2020, Hann Liew from
RinggitPlus
 and I appeared on the
#Hann&Suraya: Personal Finances ChitChat,
 the financial literacy webinar organised by Bank Negara Malaysia and Financial Education Network.

We managed to answer 19
audience-submitted questions,
live. I’ve uploaded the full video in
RinggitOhRinggit Youtube channel
. Here are the questions, plus shortcuts:

9:50
 – What
financial myths
 do you want to address?

13:15
  Is
Investment-Linked Products (ILPs)
worse for me? How do I know which insurance is for me? (Related:
Investment-Linked Products, As Explained By the CEO of Life Insurance Association of Malaysia
)

16:20
 – Where should I invest
scholarship money
?

18:15
 – What’s the most reliable way to
pay off debt
? (Related:
Explaining Snowball Method, The Best Way to Pay Off Debt
)

22:00
 – Any
 interesting stories from followers
 during Covid-19 and MCO, to motivate us?

25:40
 – I’m in my 30s. Thinking of
buying a house
. Should I?

30:00
 – Share
practical money management tips
 going into the new norm

36:10
 – Since
moratorium ended
, is it advisable to pay deferred payment or follow schedule?

38:30
 – What should I do about
MRRT application
?

41:30
 – How can I help my friend, who has a
 gambling addiction
, and cannot pay more than minimum for credit card debt despite earning well?

45:20
 – I’m B40.
Income is more important than financial literacy
. Thoughts?

48:10
 – How to
create awareness among friends
 who don’t take financial management seriously

49:40
 – Can share about
debt consolidation loans
?

52:25
 – What’s your
biggest financial mistake
?

56:40
 – How should we
save for emergency fund
?

58:30
 – How to psycho ourselves into
 not spending unnecessarily
?

1:02:30
 – How to
talk to your parents
 on money management?

1:05:35
 – How do you
discuss with spouse/future spouse
 about financial arrangement after marriage? (Related:
[VIDEO] BOYFRIEND TAG (Actually Fiancé): Should We Combine Our Finances? & Other Money Questions)

1:08:05
 – How do you strike a
balance between savings & investing
?

Due to overwhelming response and time limitations, we couldn’t answer all questions received. But no worries – let me take this opportunity to address the other 26 questions received here 🙂 Find my answers to your questions below!

Q20 – How do you define Financial Freedom?

To me, financial freedom is when I  reach Step 7: the ability to give back generously without experiencing any financial setback.

You can read Steps 1-7 in this
Guide: 7 Steps to Achieve Financial Freedom in Malaysia
 article.

Q21 – Do the public (Malaysians) needs a Certified Financial Planner like a developed nation need for each of the family?

I hope we never reach the state of ‘needing’ the services of Certified Financial Planners – that means the financial system and policies are too predatory or complex for the average person to navigate on our own. Our environment should encourage good financial behaviour and results in the first place.

This is my opinion, after reading the book
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

by University of Chicago economist Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass R. Sunstein.

Q22 – What do you both think about earning more than one income and side hustles?

I’m a big fan of multiple sources of income!

Q23 – Celik kewangan untuk semua, bukan untuk kumpulan tertentu sahaja. Saya berpendapat buat sembang dalam bahasa Malaysia

Betul. Ahli FEN banyak buat inisiatif kewangan, termasuk dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Boleh lihat
di sini.

Q24 –

How to manage spending given tight budget?

You can browse all my
articles on saving money
. The fastest way is to significantly reduce the top 3 expenses: Accommodation, Food and Transportation. It’s ok to ‘suffer’ temporarily so you can save up for the initial emergency funds.

If that doesn’t work and you have nowhere else to save, you have no choice but to earn more. Here are all my
articles on earning money
.

Q25 – What would be your advice for me (fresh graduate) when I receive my first salary later? Apart from all the priority expenses, what should I do with the balance?

Regardless of where you are, the foundation stands – follow this step-by-step
Guide: 7 Steps to Achieve Financial Freedom in Malaysia
 article.

Q26 – How to properly educate average level people to gain more income from Financial Market rather than add up commitment to Financially Survive in current situation

I don’t know about you, but I wish knew all these things earlier:
4 Money Making Tips I Wish I Knew Earlier

Q27 – I am in my 20s. Do I start saving for retirement now (besides EPF)? If yes, how do I ascertain how much I must save?

Personally, I’m saving for my retirement via EPF and PRS accounts. You can read more about them here:
3 Most Practical Investments in Malaysia (Prioritise These Over Others)

As for how much to save up for, I realise that ‘as much as possible’ isn’t a good answer (even though it’s true). But you can make use of
financial calculators from EPF website
. They have a bunch you can use to have a rough figure.

(Note: it’s very normal for your ‘amount needed’ to change over the nears, as your commitment/lifestyle change)

Q28 – Tips to manage and prioritise budget during difficult time / Can u share tips in managing & prioritising spending esp if u r experiencing financial constraint?

Most people already know the answer.
To make a budget
.

Equally important, I think, is to make the experience as fun and positive as possible. The reason is because stress encourages bad (financial) decisions, including impulse purchases (we have all bought something we shouldn’t have when we’re sad, haven’t we?)

In that regard, it’s worth reading the real ways that money buys happiness:
How to Buy Happiness: 5 Science-Backed Principles to Know TODAY

Q29 – Can you suggest what skills we should acquire during the pandemic in order to sustain ourselves as side hustle?

Start by
monetising your hobbies
, rather than entering a completely new industry. A lot of skills are transferable and at least you have expertise and/or knowledge and/or passion you can leverage on.

Q30 – Prices in Malaysia are going up and jobs are going down. How do I best protect myself from this?

I think you already know the answer – find high-paying jobs. This article may help:
3 Ways to Get A High Salary in Malaysia

Q31 –  What do you think about the role of financial stress on relationship between financial problem and wellness among Malaysian.

I’m not sure what you mean exactly by that question, but I’ll answer it in this way: I think financial stress is the reason why there is so much
negativity to financial education initiatives
.

I also think its wrong to solely put the blame on personal responsibility. Avoid people/communities who give shame-based financial advice.

Q32 – Online shopping 101: how to manage needs vs wants?

Want to know why everything feels like a need, when they’re just wants?
Marketers are really good at figuring out your spending triggers
.

Q14 – Hi, would it be wise to take out a personal loan to help me with my financing, or maybe even to cover other urgent debts that I’m still settling? Thank you.

Look up
49:40
 – we covered
debt consolidation loans.

Additionally, you might find this article of use:
4 Things You Can Do If You Need Money URGENTLY in Malaysia

Q33 – Any tips to be a smart spender? Especially for online shoppers. Ex. Using shopback, pay with eWallet and collect points etc?

Yes, yes and yes. In addition to that, you should also learn how to differentiate between real and fake reviews. See:
Online Shopping in Malaysia: My Quest to Find REAL Recommendations & Good Products

Q34 – In this challenging time, should we consider refinance our mortgage to get some extra cash in the event of emergency use during tough time?

You might find this article of use:
4 Things You Can Do If You Need Money URGENTLY in Malaysia

Q35 – Do you think ILP scheme is a good way to get insured and investing at the same time compared to having separate life insurance and invest separately?

Here you go:
9 Things You MUST Know Before You Buy Insurance in Malaysia

Q36 – The best investments for retirement purposes, assuming age above 40 and settled all loans already

All of these options are fairly low risk:
5 Best Places to Save Money in Malaysia, Ranked

Q37 – How can people in lower level of B40 (especially during this pandemic) can get financial security via Takaful? Most of ’em couldn’t afford to commit monthly

There are options for you – see goverment(-linked) and micro-insurance options in
9 Things You MUST Know Before You Buy Insurance in Malaysia
 article , under #1 🙂

Q38 – I took a personal loan to pay off my CC debt. 12.31% p.a for 5 years is it okay? Can I call the bank to get much lower interest?

That’s quite high. Please watch below
– we covered the most reliable way to pay off debt.

Q39 – I plan to refinance my house for a loan of RM500k so that I can repay my mortgage loan. It is advisable to do it.

It would be incredibly irresponsible of me to give a direct yes or no; I don’t know the details. Find someone who can crunch the numbers and figure other options for you –
Get REAL Financial Advice: 3 Ways to Find Financial Planners in Malaysia

You probably need a neutral third party, because ‘Don’t ask a barber whether you need a haircut’. Don’t ask the loan provider (banks or ahlong) if you need a loan. Of course they’ll say yes.

Q40 – I don’t do investment regularly but rather lump sum. What you think is a good way? Unit trust I mean

Lump sum works too. But I do love me some automation – it takes a lot of the ‘pain’ away. See:
Investment Tip | 10 Places to Automate Your Investments in Malaysia

Going to put one of my favourite quotes here, take it however you wish (or don’t): ‘It is better to be consistently good than occasionally perfect’.

Q41 – Your point of view people taking out EPF saving to spend now instead of use it during your retirement days.

I think its a terrible idea and one should try other options than taking the money out but hey what do I know, I’m just a blogger.

Q42 – Is this a good time to make big purchases, such as a car or a house?

Houses and cars are way more expensive than you think. If you see
The Real Answer to ‘How Much Should I Spend On A Car?’
 article, you’ll see these types of purchases ‘invite’ other expenses, costing up to 2-3x your monthly payment.

But if you can comfortably afford it – and by that I mean all your debt commitments are below 30% of your income, AND your income is stable – then go for it. It’s buyers market, lots of good deals around.

Q43 – Should I invest in safe-heaven asset (gold) or in IAP?

For what purpose??? And I assume IAP means Investment Account Platform (?) – which one??

This question is too general, so here’s a great place to learn about general investing –
10 Best Books to Learn About Investing, According to Malaysians (With Video Summaries)

Q44 – Your view on investment using EPF acc 1

If you mean using EPF money to invest in high-risk investments, I think that’s a terrible idea, but again, what do I know :/

Related:
4 Things You Can Do If You Need Money URGENTLY in Malaysia

Q45 – With current low FD rate, what are the saving or investment options that we can consider, prefer low risk

All of these options are fairly low risk:
5 Best Places to Save Money in Malaysia, Ranked

Thanks everyone who tuned in live or later 🙂 Feel free to leave additional questions here, I’ll see what I can do for you!