Housewife shares on Facebook how she manages to save RM200-250 per month on husband’s RM1,500 salary.

After EPF deductions, the take-home pay is only RM1,335. 😬

Quite a few things to learn about budgeting from here.

Allow us to break it down for you. 🧵 1. In the post, she mentioned that she is a full-time housewife, her husband is the sole breadwinner, and they have three children.

She is currently staying in a People’s Housing Program (PPR) flat and pays RM124 per month for rent.

Petronas is in trouble.

And the rakyat is going to suffer from it.

The oil and gas giant is expected to lose 30% of its revenue due to the gas distribution agreement with Petroleum Sarawak (Petros).

Read on to understand what’s happening. 🧵 1. Back in May, Sarawak signed a deal with Petronas to take over all of the gas distribution in the state.

It is part of Abang Jo’s plan to “go solo” in managing the state, rather than relying on the Federal Government for development.

This is how I’m currently managing my salary and investments.

Allow me to explain why I’m doing it this way.

🧵 1. Budgeting: 50/30/20.

This rule is simple and allows me to live in the moment while saving for the future.

You can adjust these percentages to fit your budget, but make sure to allocate some (at least 10%) for your savings.

It’s true.

The government is giving out RM500 bonus for voluntary EPF contributions.

Here’s how you can get it. 🧵 1. Under EPF’s i-Saraan initiative, members are eligible to receive 20% bonus for voluntary contributions if they are:

• Unemployed
• Self-employed
• Gig workers without a fixed income

The bonus is capped at RM500 per year, with a lifetime limit of RM5,000.

Two similar posts from different accounts.

Both are Unit Trust Agents from Kenanga Investment.

Both say that you can achieve RM1.3-1.5 mil in EPF by 55.

But here’s one very important thing that they did not tell you. 🧵 1. RISK.

Using your Acc 1 to invest in Unit Trusts will POTENTIALLY turbocharge your returns, but only if you know what you’re doing.

I’ve seen cases where people followed agents blindly, only to end up making a much bigger loss than just leaving the sum in EPF.

EPF released two things yesterday:

i) Belanjawanku 2024/2025: Estimates how much you need to maintain a “reasonable standard” of living.

ii) Retirement Income Adequacy (RIA) Framework: A new savings guide for retirement.

Allow us to break everything down for you. 🧵 i) BELANJAWANKU 2024/2025

This is an expenditure guide that offers realistic estimations on the monthly cost of living in different cities.

It categorizes spending into several areas such as:

Have you read the data consent form of this company?

For RM670, you are selling:

• High resolution images of your irises and eyes

• Images of your face in multiple spectrums, including 3D depth images

• Email, First name, Last name, Year of Birth, First letter of first name of both parents

This is way more personal data collected than your typical registrations. 1. In Worldcoin’s previous consent form, they even collected your heartbeat, breathing, and vital signs.

This was removed later because the company said it “never implemented vital sign detection techniques”.

Then why was this written in the first place?

The US is not going down without a fight.

Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on BRICS nations that are planning to move away from the dollar.

If you’re unsure what this means for Malaysia, here’s a thread to explain everything.

🧵 1. What is BRICS?

Short for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS was formulated in 2006 with the purpose of:

• Challenging the monopoly of the Western economy (mainly the US).

• Reducing reliance on the dollar.

I read Prudential’s 2023 Financial Statements.

Here’s how much insurance companies pay out in claims and how much they keep.

🧵 1. In 2023, Prudential generated RM5.07 billion in insurance revenue.

Its net profit rose to RM963.47 million, a 68% increase from RM572.16 million the year before.

UPDATE: Anwar and Bank Negara are no longer speedrunning to transition Malaysia into a high income country. 1. Jokes aside, one of the biggest reasons for the ringgit's retracement is Trump's victory.

The president elect is planning to impose 40% tariffs on Chinese imports as part of his "America First" trade measures.

This will potentially slice China's economic growth by up to 1%.

Chagee has recently been involved in a scandal on its gift coupons.

If you missed any important parts of the story, here’s everything to catch you up.

🧵

1. As part of its 7th anniversary, the tea house ran a “Tear and Win” contest, which allowed buyers to win attractive prices.

To join:

- You order a large drink

- The cup comes with a detachable section at the bottom

- You can tear it to see if you’ve won any prizes.

2024 is coming to an end.

All Malaysians have less than 2 months left to maximize their tax reliefs.

Doing so could save you hundreds or even thousands.

Here are the notable ones that you should look out for.

🧵 1. How do taxes work?

Taxes in Malaysia are progressive.

Rather than being taxed a fixed % of your total income, you’ll gradually pay more as your earnings increase.

I read ASB’s 2023 Annual Report.

Here’s what I found.

🧵 1. 10.86 million people invest in ASB.

Majority of them (77.69%) have RM5,000 and below.

With a fund size of RM174.9 billion, most of the units belong to those who hold more than RM50,000.

Just like the wealth gap in our salaries, there is a savings gap in ASB as well.

Here’s the thing guys.

You don’t need to earn RM7-10k in order to achieve RM1 mil in EPF.

In fact, with a salary of just RM2,500, you’ll hit this target in 31 years.

Let us show you the math. 🧵 1. Say you started working at 24.

You earn a salary of RM2,500 per month and manually save RM425 every month.

By 55, you’ll have RM1,006,515.50 in EPF.

The current Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) set by Bank Negara Malaysia is 3.00%.

It’s brilliant that they’ve left it this way.

Allow us to explain. 🧵 1. The OPR influences the lending and borrowing rates of the country.

A higher interest rate makes borrowing more expensive, but it also means higher return for your savings.

This will make you spend less and save more.

The ringgit has hit its highest level since February 2023.

At RM4.2710, it is only 2.31% away from RM4.20, which analysts expect to hit by year-end.

Here’s what a stronger ringgit means for you. 🧵 1. Travelling and overseas education become cheaper.

The ringgit has not only strengthened against the dollar, but all major currencies in general.

EURMYR: RM4.7595 (18-month high)
SGDMYR: RM3.3039 (17-month high)
GBPMYR: RM5.6489 (16-month high)

I went to Hong Kong 🇭🇰 for 6 days.

Here’s why I’m grateful to be a Malaysian 🇲🇾 .

🧵
1. On Saturday (7 Sept), I had dinner in one of the high-end restaurants in Habour City.

I dined together with my HK friend, and we talked about the absurd living costs there.

Apparently, restaurants facing the sea have a rental of close to HK$1 million (~RM550,000) per month.

Why I Choose Not To Buy A Property.

A Millennial’s Perspective. 🧵 1. I was at a dinner with my dad and his friend, Sarah, last week.

My dad spoke of owning a house and Sarah said she’s been renting for over 15 years.

“That’s such a waste of money,” dad said.

“If you forked out just a bit more every month, you could’ve owned a home by now.”

Petronas is the Cash Cow of Malaysia.

In 2023, the firm paid RM40 billion in dividends to the government.

But it will soon struggle to make similar payments in the future.

Here’s why. 🧵 1. In May, Sarawak signed an agreement with Petronas to take over the gas trade within the state.

The transition has already begun.

By January 2025, Petroleum Sarawak (Petros), will be in charge of all natural gas produced in the state.

This is how we manage our monthly salary and investments.

Let us explain why we’re doing it this way.

No Shopee links. No sponsorships.

🧵 1. We go by the 50/30/20 rule of splitting our salary.

It’s simple and doesn’t require a lot of thinking.

• 50% Needs (AEON, GX, Rize).

• 30% Wants (AEON, GX, Rize).

• 20% Saving & Investing (Rize, Versa, ASNB, TNG).

Astro hit an all-time high of RM3.70 in June 2014.

Now, the company is worth 91% less.

RM10,000 invested in this stock a decade ago would be worth RM894 today.

So, what on earth happened? 🧵 1. The history of Astro began with the 4th and 7th Prime Minister.

In 1993, Mahathir called for an end to the government’s monopoly in media.

This led to the creation of MEASAT, Malaysia’s privately-owned satellite communications company.