Malaysia Money Matters

Firstly, on a macroeconomic level, I think this is a good move. Increasing disposable income will increase consumption, hence increase overall economic output - thus the economy will continue to grow. Taking a more nuanced view - even if a lot of the increased income flows to debt reduction, this means less pressure on capital requirements on bank balance sheets. However, revenues will suffer slightly in the short term but in the medium term, this frees up capital to lend - this will stimulate growth. So the debate is raging on social media on what should one do and there are of course all sorts of accusations and pictures of calculations showing how much you will pay on GST, taxes etc .. there are so many angry people out there... sigh My suggestion is very simple - You Do What is Best for YOU . Don't Listen To People Telling You What They Want You to Do Just Because That Is What THEY Want To Do Themselves! So what is best for you? I've broken it down to 3 main categ...

Am thinking of offering pro-bono financial advisory services to certain vulnerable segments of society here in Malaysia. Something along the lines of say, young LGBT Malaysians - especially the transgender community. I have a few transgender friends and a couple of them are doing well financially but the rest seem to struggle somewhat. Perhaps I can help but it's a sensitive subject to broach. Anyway, if any of you youngsters out there need someone to give some advice on how to get ahead financially - maybe Uncle here can help you or at least listen to you. Just drop a comment below and we'll take it from there. :)

I remember way back when I first started work and I asked my cousin sister as a guide, how much should one pay for a house or a car based on annual salary? She said 10 times but you know, bless her, she's a bit of a bimbo when it comes to money since she's always had loads of it! Hahaha Anyway, being a bit free the other day, I decided to do a bit of number crunching based on my ahem "insider banking" knowledge (kidding) to work out for myself what is an easy benchmark to decide how much you should pay for a house or a car. The calculation model is very simple, using the maximum 33% of net salary as the repayment amount to determine the maximum eligible loan, then apply an assumed 90% loan to get to the house / car price amount. I also imputed the tax depending on the income levels because for lower income, the difference between your gross and net pay is relatively low with the bulk being caused by EPF's 11% but for higher income folks, the effective tax ...

If you are cash rich, then your interest income from fixed deposits will go up. If you are paying off loans, actually you won't feel much because your repayment amount stays the same but the interest portion is now slightly higher. So what you should do, if you have some money in your EPF account 2, is to use that to pay down some of the principle of the loan to ensure your tenure is not extended unduly long. From the human psychology perspective, the rate hike will make house buyers nervous for a while so sales will go down a bit. Eventually though, they will get over it. This means that property prices will stabilise for a while then begin to pick up again because there will be housing pressure from a growing adult population. I believe now is a good time to look for distressed sellers and pick up a good bargain. Some people were very aggressive in buying properties during the boom, with "no money down" using inflated sales agreements - well, think that is goi...

Friend of mine who is a real estate agent sent me this - seems interesting.. Project Name : 28 Boulevard Location : Pandan Perdana Land area : 5.23 acres Tenure : Leasehold Components : Four 45 storey towers with Studios,1,2,3 and 4 bedroom units Size (Sq ft): 450, 710, 904. Pricing : from RM600 psf to RM650 psf Features:  ~Lakeside living ~Affordable pricing ~200,000 Sq ft of facilities ~Sky garden terraces ~Lakefront retail and alfresco dining ~Brought to you by the same people who  developed Marc Residence KLCC by Best Boulevard Sdn Bhd My take: High density - don't like. Leasehold - don't like Lower middle class area - well, usually the food choices are more and better :) Relatively affordable as it starts from under 300k - but for such a tiny unit. Reckon it's a buy call if you have the cash to put down a large chunk and rent it out. I wouldn't buy it for staying nor do I expect the value to appreciate much - oh it will...

In these times of high prices and low salaries, a lot of people get into financial difficulties when they end up with a lot of credit card debt to maintain their lifestyle. Anyway, no judgement - mistakes happen, I've been there too. The thing is how to get out of it. This is where I think personal loans are not too bad. Well, they are expensive if you take a long tenure but if you know how to use them wisely, they can be very useful. As a banker, these are the tips on how to maximise on your personal loan: 1. Have a clear objective: Such as to clear off your card debt AND that you are going to stop using that card! The lower monthly monthly repayment is meant to relieve your monthly budget and create a set timeline to pay off that amount. 2. Be disciplined: Per no 1, don't run up another debt on another card for goodness sake. 3. Sign up for the lowest TENURE, not the lowest rate: The shorter tenures have the cheapest rates anyway. If you try shopping around ...