hi guys,

I am working in one MNC for over 1 year already. I have just got my increment this month. My new salary is RM 3.2k without deducting the EPF, tax and SOCSO (previously is RM 2.7k) so after deduct all those stuff should be rm 2.9k like that.

Here is my breakdown of my expenses for each month.

Food - RM 600 (eat with gf and friends)
Offering to church - RM 320
Utility bills - RM 400 (maybe more a little bit sometimes)
Petrol - RM 300
Toll - RM 50 (estimation only)
Entertainment - RM 200
Total is RM 1870.

I can save around RM 1000 per month. Is it consider good enough or should i cut other expenses now?

Please share your thoughts.

thanks. hope i can say more next time..
Yeah but i want to know more investment.
it is called tithe.. 10% of your each month total income.
investments? i am looking at unit trust or ASN. can tell me more?
yeah.. you christian too?

actually key to save money is, risk your life to accident and life become boring ...

depend what you want.

Well agree with you on the option of saving and having a passive income but i have to disagree when the source of transportation is motorbike. Actually i have tought of it, wanted to get a Naza Blade to ride to office but in 6 months time i saw 4/5 motorbike accident on Elite highway where i travel and commute daily. After deep consideration i choose not to opt for a bike due to safety reason.

I dorwan to save a little and end up dying .

I am new to this line hence, may not be able to explain my scenario clearly.

As I do not have any clue as regards the type of unit trusts, I have appointed an agent to act on my behalf, i.e., to select and invest the monies on my behalf to achieve the goal. I have been made to understand that the agent is earning his commissions thru the service tax levied on the monies which i deposit into my unit trust account. 

To facilitate such investment, I have been asked to arrange a standing instruction to debit my monies directly into his account so that he could invest on my behalf.

This, I believe it not the mutual fund manger's role.

Hence, my 2 abovementioned questions.

What is the role of a mutual fund manager?

Bring home salary = RM 2500.00 / month
Overtime work= minimum RM300 / month
Part time work = RM 1700 plus minus / month
A little MLM here and there = RM 1500 / month <-- reducing from month to month, cause no time
So it is around RM 6000 / month

My expenses:
Food:RM 200/month <-- work in industrial area in ulu place, RM5/lunch, boss always treat. dinner mostly own cook. weekend some better foods.
Groceries: RM 100/month <--tidbit, milk, juice, chocolates
Petrol: RM 300/month <-- working place 10 minutes away
House rent: RM550/month
House utilities: RM 250/month <-- Streamyx, water, electricity, and gas.
Toll: RM 50/month <-- back kampung 2 times/month, RM25/trip
Parents Stipend: RM1000/month <-- sometimes pay less if no money.
Part time study fees: RM1000/month <-- postgrad engineering degree, 12 more months
Car loan: RM 750 <-- 5 more years
Property loan 1: RM 1300/month <-- 35 years <-- still in construction
Property loan 2: RM 1100/month <-- 40 years <-- a 2 storey shop lot
Entertainment: RM50/month <-- 1 movie/month but already 6 months didn't go for movie
HLB Force Saving Scheme: RM250/month

Roughly calculated expenses already more than RM6000.00. I didn't owe bank for CC or PL. I got no insurance coverage except the one provided by company. I don't have any personal saving or emergency saving. Amount of friends can be finger counted,zero social life, house no astro, hell, don't even have a TV. Little enjoyment of life for now, but i am okay with it for now. Bank account is literally zero at the end of every month. Sometimes if got OT a lot and part time a bit more, still can have extra RM100 in bank.

My problem is, I am an engineer and just entered workforce for 16 months. I got a girl friend of 8 years with me but she is still studying and graduate next year. I want her to work for 2 years first, and then we can get married. But based on amount of saving that I had for every month, it is like a nightmare of wanting to get married. I calculated the cost of the marriage, include honeymoon etc., need around RM50k with the possibility of overshoot. How do I save up RM50k in 3 years, with at least saving of RM1300/month. I am already a very saving person and try to cut cost at every aspect and increase my income.

P1 and P2, I pay deposit of 30% downpayment each. Loan approved with my dad as guarantor. Car is 50% deposit. Bank also take account of my part time job because its kinda fix monthly payment since 24 months ago, together with testimonial from my part time employer.

I know its bad planning, that is why I need some advice. Hence, why i am here.

the total price of the properties is around RM1.5 million, I don't know how to calculation goes cause I asked my dad do it for me as I only need to give out downpayment and list my dad as guarantor with the condition putting my mom name on property name.

I am planning to sell out the shop lot as the value had increase 20% but according to my dad, if sell the bought property for less than 5 years, government will impose some sort of taxes. Can anyone clarify on this ?

Does that mean that I cannot sell my property first ? How long time more I had to wait ?

if u disposed within 2yrs, rpgt is 30%, 3yrs, 20%, 4th years, 15%, after 5th years is 5%.
better invest for long term n less tax charge. 

Personally and logically, i think this is a misleading thought.
Spending NOW, FUTURE earnings, on depreciating assets or non-essentials, is how to get killed financially in the long run OR being a slave.

Using your example, the buyer of the MyVi will be able to invest the difference of $700pm!
Imagine one's savings & investment injected with ADDITIONAL $700pm, that's $8,400pa and at simple 8%pa compounded, one would have  $121,687.12
eg.
PA extra injected $8,400.00
$8,400.00 9yrs compounded: $16,791.64
$8,400.00 8yrs compounded: $$15,547.81
$8,400.00 7yrs compounded: $14,396.12
$8,400.00 6yrs compounded: $13,329.74
$8,400.00 5yrs compounded: $12,342.36
$8,400.00 4yrs compounded: $11,428.11
$8,400.00 3yrs compounded: $10,581.58
$8,400.00 2yrs compounded:   $9,797.76
$8,400.00 1yrs compounded:   $9,072.00
$8,400.00 0yrs compounded:   $8,400.00
Total  $121,687.12

Hmm.. i'd take the MyVi and the EXTRA $121K pls
BTW, i'd think the extra maintenance cost for the Honda Civic would add to the illogical-ity of it - it's like stabbing yourself a few more times when U are already bleeding. 

True - if one can afford it and it is one's priority, why not buy buy buy with credit even if 9 years, right JasonToh? Heck, if an Audi A8 cost only a low % of one's networth / earning power and one is a Quatro enthusiast, gambate!

Only thing i may serong a bit would be:
a. whether one can take the extra $700pm and earn 8%pa.
Can lar with a bit of effort - ASB also already how many %

b. CAPEX expenditures like cars will attract maintenance.
Thus, cant forget that portion of extra cost as well, which wasnt factored into the difference of $700pm.

True. I don't have a car and so I have no girl friend also. Nowadays hard to get date without a car   .

Any online version? A bit susah to read >_<

Yes, stick to your old car if it serves you well...

Car depreciate once you drove it off the sales room !

FYI, the world's greatest investor W.B continues to drive an old car and live in the same suburban house he bought in 1958.

congrats on the 'rich' bank account. but also condolences on the 'poor' life.
i m not advocating jolly all the time and spend all your money. yet, we also cannot be at other the extreme end.
a rich life doesn't mean only financially rich. what is the point of having 100k in bank when you cant 'afford' to treat a good friend to dinner? or buy birthday presents or wedding angpow.
or go watch a movie in cinema? or eat good food.some ppl might have less money in bank, but they have seen the ancient city of Rome, or ruins of Angkor Wat. they have experienced life.done more, feel more and taste more.
sure, some might argue that you can do those all later after you become millionaires or retired. but remember we all living in borrowed time. even if u have the time, by then you might not have the energy or friends to join you.
money is just a mean to an end. it only has value when you spend it, else it is just some figures on papers.
certain things like quality of life, love and friendship cant be replaced by money.

You must not have seen real millionaires yet right?

I know a owner of a big listed company (which is still listed now), he is worth billions of RM (yes billions, not million), yet he goes to the wet market, live a simple frugal life, enjoy kopitiam meals, washes his own cars (a medium priced sedan), goes around in shorts and t-shirt. He is very humble and well respected.

On day he arrive at one of his factories, alone, with simple attire, in his own car and want to go into the factory. And the security guard refuses to let him in, even after he told the security several times he is the owner, but the security guard did not believe him from his outlook. Then he told the security guard he wants to see the GM, the security ask him to wait and confirm with the GM. He sat on the bench like every other worker and wait for his turn to be called. Once the GM heard his name, the GM ran down from the office to the security guard post where he was quickly ushered into the office and tell off the security that he should recognize the chairman of the board. Instead of getting a scolding, the chairman gave the security a hefty pay raise for not letting stranger into the plant and upholding company rules. 

Yes you are right RM 1 million nowadays is noting much to shout about. If you have at least 1-2 properties and debt free, you are already a millionaire. In Malaysia generally accepted term to 'feel' rich net worth is at least 1 million USD figuratively speaking.

You are also right on the some of the millionaires spend and some don't. Some choose to save and some choose to spend. There is nothing wrong with that. Life is all about the choices we make.

It is just that you should not impose YOUR choices on others who CHOOSE to manage their finances differently. Hence either to scrimp and save and to spend lavishly is within their own right. 

If you think you have to spend lavishly when you are rich, then go ahead, but never look down on people who are savers. Each has it own ways of enjoying their wealth. Some enjoy by just seeing their wealth goes up.. instead of spending it... some enjoy spending it and accumulate 'things'. 

"Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in." - John D. Rockefeller, the first American to amass 1 billion dollars. 

So long list.   

All written by people like Robert Kiyosaki in order to make more money off people like you through their motivational books.

Unfortunately, it is all motivational mumbo jumbo without any practical ways to earn more money or even save money.

Let me simplify for you and I give you a well known wisdom minus all mumbo jumbo: -

NEVER SPEND MORE THAN YOU EARN.

or EARN MORE THAN YOU SPEND.

That's it.

Want to live a billionaire's lifestyle? Get a billionaire's income.

You are currently earning a fresh grad salary of RM2.5K gross? Well, make sure your expenditure is RM1.6K and save the rest of your net income.

Simple as.

The "one slice of soap" is an analogy on how the rest of us should do in order to get rich, or at least, financially comfortable in a practicable way.

What Yeoh clan, AK and the rest do, is probably unique to them and at their circumstances.

I highly doubt by reading their exploits you could replicate their success for yourself that easily or their secret path to riches could be so easily "read".

Otherwise Malaysia would be overrun by millionaires already, no?

I agree with this view. Since this thread is about personal finance management, I think we can safely exclude those who are really earning super high incomes, living a high consumption lifestyle (they can afford it, no problems). Majority of people will be normal wage earners, striving to improve their personal finance status.

Obviously, there are some opinions that one should strive hard to earn more money, and therefore don't have to live the frugal life, but some people do not see the point in spending excessively in things which they feel is not needed. Meaning they actually feel happy living a frugal life, not a poor sad state of existence trying to be a millionaire by using soap shavings and reading free newspapers.

I hear all those stories about fresh grads coming out to work, earning say 2k per month and then jumping in to buy new car on 7-9 year loans, drinking starbucks,chatime, buying the latest iphone/samsung galaxy costing their 1 month salary or other expensive branded goods on credit. Those are all scary situations, and I'll admit that I was once like that too. Just looking at nicer cars, and calculating whether I can afford to own/loan it through a 5 or 7 year loan - as long as I can afford to pay the monthly installment, then there is a high probability to get it.

We are conditioned by the consumer market we live in, and some by peer pressure and some by lack of awareness. Many would have gone through the buy-new-car-on-5-year-or-more-loan mistake for example and then scratching their heads wondering why they don't have much money...

Let me try and ask a question, assuming now someone gave you RM500k and told you it's yours, free for you to do anything with it. What is the first thing you would do? Answering this will probably reveal a lot about how the person thinks in terms of personal finance management.

Wong Seafood,

Let's say gross salary 5K, net salary 4K+, so have to save 5K x 10% = 500 on top of EPF?

500, wet wet water la