17. HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON TRANSPORTATION, SHOPPING, TRAVEL, FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS, HEALTH, BEAUTY, EDUCATION, HOME, WORK, BANKING, CREDIT AND DEBT

 

17. HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON TRANSPORTATION, SHOPPING, TRAVEL, FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS, HEALTH, BEAUTY, EDUCATION, HOME, WORK, BANKING, CREDIT AND DEBT 

 

“Do not spend what is left after spending. Spend what is left after saving.” -- Warren Buffett

In order to be fit in your personal finance, you need to consciously keep in mind that it's a healthy financial fitness lifestyle that you are pursuing. Just like your body that needs regular exercise and nutrition to keep fit, your personal finance also needs regular effort and time to be fit.

I was brought up to be a fairly frugal person looking at how my parents live their lives. As an island boy and now a half-century man living in a city, the simplicity in life and frugal living go hand in hand. 

I haven't always been this way though. I splashed my parents' hard-earned money during my youth and college years. Even during my early years of working life, I rewarded myself big time after each monthly pay cheque. 

Only when I started to have debts (housing and car loans) and think of early retirement that I've put in a more conscious effort in living frugally. 

It has taken years of simplifying and cutting back on little things mindfully, one at a time. While there are still many more things I can save on, I'm grateful to how far I've come. 

I will share with you very practical money saving tips in almost every area of your life, from transportation, shopping, entertainment, food, to travel, home, work, to family and friends. These different ways to save money are based on some research and personal experience. Some suggestions are rather straight forward and easy to apply. A few tactics do require a bit more time and effort though.

Fret not, none of them is harder than getting a lean body with a six-pack abs. In fact, they are rather simple to implement. What you need is a change of spending habit and determination to have a fitter personal finance. All it takes is that very first step towards your ultimate dream: change your life for the better, pay off your debt a little more quickly, improve your financial habits, help you achieve your dream sooner, and ultimately achieve your financial independence. You can do it!

Depending on your current financial situation on your financial journey, some ways to save money can be slightly radical, or extreme. My recommendation will be to pick 5-10 easy ones to kick start. If you love challenges, pick 3-5 more - the harder ones - to give you that adrenaline rush.

The more money saving tips you implement, the more and faster you save money. When you diligently do what's recommended, you may be able to save hundreds or thousands of Ringgit each year, saving much more money than you ever thought possible.

A. How to save money: transportation

Many Malaysians own cars. Cars are usually the next biggest ticket item after house purchases. If you go around Malaysia, especially in Klang Valley in the evenings, you will see one household owning a few cars. The husband has one car, or may be two: one sedan for work and another MPV or weekend family outing. The wife probably has another car for work. If they have children over 18, perhaps each young adult is given a car as one of their birthday presents. Imagine, one household can easily three to five cars. 

1.      Reduce number of cars in your family. 

If you have a few cars in the family, it’s wise to own less cars and adapt car pool system instead. Husband can drop the wife off at work in the morning and pick her up in the evening after work if their offices are near to each other’s. If your neighbour works near your office, you can also carpool with your neighbour to work. E-hailing services like Grab Car are so popular that if you don't use car often, hopping on a Grab Car or a public transport is probably a good alternative.  

2.     Go for reliable, fuel-efficient, economical car. 

If you choose to own a car, it's advisable to buy a reliable, fuel-efficient and economical car. In fact, nowadays people prefer compact, affordable cars over luxurious big cars. With Perodua, Proton, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and other automakers offering cars less than RM100,000, I don't see any reason why you need to buy a car more expensive than RM100,000. 

Your goal of owning a car is to bring you from one destination to the next. It's for your convenience. It's not for you to show off your status. If you can, buying a used car model is even a better option if you are up for it. 

Don't succumb to social pressure from your friends or your neighbours and end up buying an expensive car. It's not going to help you achieve your financial independence earlier. With the extra RM50,000 or more you save from buying a compact but reliable car, you can invest that money to make your hard-earned money work harder for you. 

Always remember that contrary to what accountants say about car being an asset, I see cars as liability. There is no capital appreciation from your car. In fact, the moment you sign that loan agreement to put the new car under your name, its value starts to depreciate. You can never make money out of buying a car. 

Therefore, by my book, car ownership is not an asset but a liability. It makes you bleed. It’s a big hole in your pocket. It makes your hard-earned money flow out from your pocket over the years. The only thing you can do is to ensure your car still has good resale value when you do decide to sell many years later. This is to minimise your loss. 

3.     Shop for best car loan / insurance and pay them promptly

As for your car loan and car insurance, please shop around for the best rates. Interest saved on your borrowed money is money earned. You don't want to end up paying more for your car because of the higher loan interest rate. 

If your car interest rate is higher than fixed deposit rates, then it's not worth even getting your car loan at first place. It's better to save enough then only buy your car with a lump sum figure. 

Fortunately, car loan interests are usually still below the fixed deposit rates or bond returns. (Perhaps this is not so true with unprecedented low fixed deposit rates due to covid-19 pandemic.) Therefore, it's still okay to serve your car loan. Just make sure you pay them on time so that there's no penalty.

4.     Invest in car maintenance

Now that you have your car (or cars), in order to ensure your car has good resale value and to minimise the breakdown over the years, do invest in car maintenance. Nowadays, most new cars come with 5-year or 100,000 km free maintenance package. Make sure you get your car serviced as per schedule. After the warranty period is over, it's even more important to keep your car well maintained. A well-maintained car can prevent expensive surprises in the future. Getting the oil changed regularly is much cheaper than replacing your engine. Plus, it can keep you safe too! 

I drove the same Langkawi-duty-free Nissan Bluebird for 15 years before I changed to Toyota. I drove Toyota Altis for another 14 years. Now I drive a more fuel-efficient, affordable Toyota Vios. This car shall accompany me for the next 10-15 years. If I didn't keep my reliable cars well maintained, I doubted that they could have lasted so long with the wear and tear.

5.     Inflate your car tyres regularly

During your daily driving, it's important to inflate your tyres regularly. If your car tyres have less air-pressure, it may affect your petrol consumption. It can also put your life and others at risk. 

6.     Wash your own car

How about car wash? For each car wash, it's going to cost you RM8 to RM10. If you wash your car twice a month, you will be spending close to RM200 a year on car wash alone. Can't you wash you own car to save the money at your home or condominium compound? You can treat it as a full body workout exercise too. 

7.     Pump petrol in the evening 

As for petrol pumping, I have read it somewhere that it's better to pump your petrol in the evening when weather is not too hot. If under hot humid sun, the petrol will evaporate as you pump your petrol. It means you have less petrol in your tank than you are supposed to for the price you pay.

8.     “Time” when to pump petrol

With the petrol price floatation system implemented now in Malaysia, you can choose to "time" when you should pump your petrol. For example, if you know petrol price is going to increase in the next round, then you may want to fill up your petrol tank first. I personally don't "time" when to pump petrol. I find it a bit cumbersome though. But you can try if you stay near petrol stations.

9.     Combine few trips into one

I love to optimise my trips by combining supposedly a few drive-outs into a single trip. For instance, if I need to run some errands, I would combine a few activities or tasks into one by location. Instead of going out in a few separate trips, I can then do all things during the same trip. It's not only money saving on petrol, it's also time saving. It makes me more efficient in my planning.

10.   Check your Waze

You can use Waze to find out which is the best route to take to a particular destination in terms of time saving as well as petrol consumption. A slightly longer distance with less traffic lights and traffic jam along the journey may end up saving you a few cents here and there.

11.   Watch your speed 

You can save money by driving your car more efficiently. Instead of speeding, you should follow the speed limit keeping your car speed to the most economical level. Even at traffic lights, don't be like some hooligans speeding up their cars as and when the traffic light turns green. They are not going any faster in this KL city driving. Be patient and slowly accelerate your car speed instead. 

12.   Choose cheaper parking rates

Besides petrol, there is also parking fee you need to pay when you drive. Weekend parking is usually more expensive than weekday rate. Perhaps after 6pm, instead of hourly parking, it is a cheaper flat rate. 

Many people love to park as close as possible to their destination, even though it may be more expensive. Personally, I prefer to park a bit far away if the parking fee is cheaper. Then I will take a slow walk to my destination. It gives me an opportunity to save money on parking and exercise at the same time.

13.   Use public transport, walk or ride your bicycle 

Of course, the best is still to use public transportation, walk or ride your bicycle more instead of driving. These are the best modes of transport beating driving or e-hailing car service anytime. 

If you stay near a public bus route, LRT, MRT, or train stations, please consider taking public transportation to work. With the RM100 unlimited ride's monthly package, it's a steal! (In 2020, the newly launched unlimited ride’s monthly package is only RM50.) You don't only save money, you can also take a good nap or read a good book in the public transport, especially LRT / MRT / train. 

I used to walk 1.2 km from home to the nearest LRT station to work. The train journey took around 30 minutes one way to the station next to SOGO Kuala Lumpur. Jobstreet.com office is just a mere 10-minute slow walk from the station. I could read my favourite book in the morning ride and took a short nap on my way back inside the LRT train. I found it to be less stressful too. What an awesome away to save money on transportation, giving me the time to read and nap during the journeys. 

Recently I watched a TV drama. The main actor, the CEO of a large retail company in China, has this policy for himself to promote green economy. As long as any destination that he wants to go is less than 10 km from his home (which is near the office building), he will cycle or walk instead of commuting by car. What a beautiful concept to minimise driving while contributing to green economy!

Similarly, whenever I go to the banks, pharmacies, bakery shops, grocery stores, IT gadget shops, hair salon, book store, The Store Supermarket, Aeon Big or any shops in Sri Petaling, I opt to walk from home. It's about 800 m walk from home passing by a community centre and a school. 

For those who have been to Sri Petaling, you know how congested the roads are, filled with double-parked cars, etc. I'd rather save my time from looking for car park, pay the extra for the parking, and waste my car petrol. Walking there with an environmentally friendly bag in my hand is much more relaxing. Walking is also a good exercise for the body. And it helps to save money on petrol. 

Besides that, I also walk to the gym from home in the morning. It's about 1.2 km away, taking me 25 minutes to reach by slow walking. I treat it as a warm up. It saves me on petrol as well as RM3 car parking fee each time.

You may say the sun is scorching hot, and I will be sweating badly. But in my mind, what's this little sacrifice in return for time freedom in future? I choose to taste “bitter first, sweet later”. 

Most Malaysians don’t like to walk, especially under hot weather. But look at our neighbours Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Most of them walk a lot daily. They commute by public transportation, not by car. Physically they are much fitter than us in general. No wonder Malaysia ends up as the most obese nation in South East Asia. No thanks to our unhealthy lifestyle lacking daily exercises. The next time you want to start your car engine to your neighbourhood shop or fitness centre, put your car key away. Just walk!

 

B. How to save money: shopping

Most people just love shopping. When they get tired of shopping, they sit down and try on shoes. When they need exercise, they go for shopping as their cardio exercise. When they feel that they have worked super hard during the week and they deserve a new addition to their closet, they go and shop during weekends.

1.      Avoid shopping malls

Many people increasingly love to visit shopping malls during weekends. It's air-conditioned, comfortable and convenient. It's a favourite pastime activity for modern-day families living in the cities. You can find almost everything you need at a shopping mall. 

Unfortunately, shopping mall is also a place where you can easily put a dent in your pocket. If you are into saving money, don't go to shopping malls if you can avoid it. Not even for window shopping. Go only when you have essentials to buy. 

When you do go shopping at shopping mall, please make a list of items you want to buy beforehand and stick to it. You can easily write the "to buy list" digitally on the Notes mobile app in your smartphone. This can prevent you from buying unneeded items, wasting your money and creating more waste at your home.

I know it's easier said than done. I have had countless shopping experiences whereby I walk into a hypermarket buying weekly groceries on the shopping list, but I end up buying a lot of unhealthy snacks, nuts and chocolates. By right, I shouldn’t buy the unhealthy snacks, nuts and chocolates. If I don't see them, I don't buy. But since these items are conveniently positioned near the check-out counter, I then conveniently pick up a few and dump into my shopping trolleys. Nuts and chocolates are my weaknesses. I need to practise more self-control to resist all the temptations. 

In another occasion, I went to bookstore at a shopping mall to buy books and I came back with a pair of new running shoes as well. I didn’t mean to buy the running shoes. But since there was a sale, I ended up buying it. 

Therefore, nowadays I try my best not to window shop. I have a list on my hand. I know what I want to get. I go straight to that store, grab it, and out of the shopping mall. 

2.     Don’t end up spending more during sale

Everyone loves to shop during sale. In Malaysia, there are festive sales like Raya sale, Christmas sale, Chinese New Year sale, etc. Then there are back-to-school sale during school holidays. Not to forget mid-year nationwide mega sale and the year-end sale. How about 11-11 Single's day sale and 12-12 Mega sale? In between these sales, there are many other sales and promotions too. 

With virtually a sale every month, does that mean you can buy something each sale? Do you think shopping during sales period can save you money? The answer is yes and no. 

For sure you will enjoy discounts during sales, but the tendency is that you may also end up buying things that you don't need. Even though things that you don't need are "cheap" during sale, you're not saving money by getting them on sale if you weren't going to buy them in the first place. In fact, you will be wasting your money. 

I have heard way too many of my friends regretting "clicking" on some items into their shopping cards "accidentally". They end up spending (thus wasting) quite a lot of money especially during the 11-11 Single's Day online sale! By the way, do you know that Alibaba always hits their sales record every year? It's good for Alibaba. You give your money to Alibaba. But it's not good for you. It's setting you back in your own financial independence plan.

Purchase with Purchase (PWP) sounds familiar ? How about "Buy 2 get 1 free", "Buy 2, 10% off. Buy 3, 30% off", or "Buy 2nd item 50% off"? 

Many consumers end up giving themselves excuses to buy that extra 2 units of same item in the name of "stocking up" or buy an additional different item which they don't even intend to buy at first place. They go home full of regrets with a bigger dent in their pocket. They were supposed to save some money during sales period with discounted prices. But they end up spending more. 

Hence, practise self-control, resist temptation and stick to your shopping list during sale. Otherwise, you will regret your actions.

3.     30-day rule to control your impulse buying

Do you think twice before making major purchases like mobile phone, mirrorless digital camera, laptop, watch, jewellery, refrigerator, Nike shoes, Giorgio Armani suits, or Coach handbags? If you are rich, or with rich parents, please go ahead and swipe your credit cards to help boost Malaysia's economy.

But if you are working in a 9-to-5 job, trying your best to achieve your financial freedom soonest, then please stop your impulse buying. Calculate how big the dent will be on your monthly salary. 

Remember: a high-end RM5,000 iPhone may cost you your one-month salary and may not make you more friends. An RM900 Nike shoe may not win you secret admirers at basketball court if you still can't score. A RM1,000 Coach handbag will not make you a high-society socialite rubbing shoulders with those appearing in Tatler's magazine. 

I personally fell into impulse buying many times before. In 2018, I was crazy chasing for speed, trying to improve my 42km full marathon time. I ended up having 5 pairs of running shoes that year: 2 pairs of Saucony, 1 pair of New Balance, Asics and Nike. Did I manage to wear all 5 pairs of them to run, train and compete in full marathon? Yes, I did, but largely they were under-utilized. Did my full-marathon running time improve because of new shoes, new brands, new technology? How I wish. My finish time was still the same, not a single minute of improvement. And I wasted RM1,000 buying extra 3 pairs of running shoes unnecessarily. 

I finally realised that shoes will not make me run any faster if I don't train enough anyway. I decided not to be tempted by all the shoe reviews on running websites anymore. Instead, I should just focus on my running form, efficiency, and training to improve my speed.  

When you are about to fall into impulse buying, take a deep breath, leave your dreamy world behind, and come back to reality. 

You are still struggling to save money for your financial independence. You are still struggling to save money for your family. You are still struggling to save money to purchase your first house. You are still struggling to pay for your car loan. Why on earth would you want to swipe your credit card without giving it a second thought?

Don't buy instantly. Walk out from the store. Go back and relook at your personal finance. Think it through logically. Is it a need or a want? What other things you might need to sacrifice not spending on in order to pay for such big items to keep your saving rate on target as planned? After you have made sure that it's not an impulse buy, then you can do some price comparisons amongst few stores of the same item. When you find the best bargain, then go ahead and purchase. 

30-day rule is a simple method to control impulse spending. Whenever you feel the urge to splurge, whether it's for new mobile phone or a new dress, force yourself to stop. If after 30 days you still feel you should make the purchase, only then you put a dent in your pocket. This is also a good way to prevent stocking up unnecessary things at home. 

4.     Work towards a minimalist wardrobe

How about clothing? shirts? office wear? trousers? gym shorts? jeans, official function attires? And for ladies, how about evening gowns, office dress, sports attire, leisure shirts and pants, etc? Do you have a lot of different types, colours and perhaps sizes of clothes in your wardrobe? Have you ever bought a new shirt, worn it for only one time, and then hanged it in your wardrobe without wearing it again? How about a particular bright neon colour shirt which you thought you would like? After a while, the colour is no longer trendy. And then you decide to shelf it as a display in your wardrobe thereafter? For those who have yo-yo dieting, do you end up having different sizes of clothing in your closet? Have you experienced purchasing a new polo shirt, going back home, and only realizing that you already have an exactly the same colour, same size polo shirt in your wardrobe? 

You see, if you and I don't have a minimalist wardrobe, we will end up buying a lot of clothing. If you and I don't regularly do a stock take of our wardrobe, we may end up buying something we already have. If you and I have our body weights up and down from strict dieting, we may end up buying different sizes of clothing. A lot of our hard-earned money goes to waste from all these purchases. For the ladies, I think it's even more disastrous because potentially you may buy even more things, including cosmetics and beauty products. 

Instead of chasing a particular colour that's in season, probably owning clothing which are evergreen that will never be out of season is a much smarter choice. 

If you ever visit Japan before, you will notice that most of their clothing fall into 3 to 4 colours only: black, grey, earth-toned and white. Blue jeans is also common as it matches with any shirts. Japanese prefer natural colours which are always in season and never out of season. That means they can wear them anytime. 

Let’s look at Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg. His items in his wardrobe are either grey or blue. Grey shirts and hoodies match with blue jeans. 

If you can work towards minimalist wardrobe like them, I am sure it will help to save a lot of money on clothing. Besides having a minimalist wardrobe, it's good to take care of your clothes too. They last longer. 

5.     Cheap is good? Not necessarily

Don’t always buy the cheapest things in town. It may seem counterintuitive, but you may end up wasting your money. For example, if you go and buy cheap shirts, appliances, electronics and items you will use for a period of time, they may breakdown in a few months or a year’s time.

I used to buy cheap tee-shirts especially during overseas travel. Some are really good buys but others are really bad in quality. I end up having some shirts which I only wore once and gave away. Some shirts become shorter and the colour fades after a few washes. What a waste of money! 

If "cheap" is the only thing in your mind, you should think of in the context of “value for money”. Look for reliable brands, reasonable price, durable products to buy. 

6.     Don’t be greedy during online shopping

Before Lazada, Shopee, CashBack, eBay, Taobao, Zalora, and other e-commerce marketplaces become common and popular, especially to the millennials, the only way to shop was to visit a physical store or shop. 

But nowadays, you can bring the whole shopping experience into the comfort of your own home. You can sit at the comfort of your sofa and surf the e-commerce sites for any shopping items you like. By adding into shopping carts with various payment options including credit cards and online banking, and voila.. your shopping is done! A few days later you will have your purchased items delivered to your doorsteps. In most cases, if you are not satisfied with your purchased items, you can even send it back within 14 days or 30 days. You get your full refund without any questions asked.

No doubt, online shopping is easier, more convenient and in most cases, cheaper than to buy from a physical retail stores for the same goods. However, please be cautious if you love to shop online. You may not end up saving money all the time. You may end up spending more. 

Nowadays, all these e-commerce websites (similar with Facebook and other social media platforms) use big data to their greatest advantage - for the good and bad. They will know your shopping behaviours, your hobbies and perhaps what you like to buy. 

The moment you search for a product, the next moment you see all so-called "related and relevant products" popping up on the same page. These are all carefully planned by the online shopping sites to lure you to buy more by "suggesting" you to buy.

If you search for Nike shoe, probably you may see different model of Nike shoes popping up, followed by Nike shorts, Nike tees, Nike caps, etc. Or perhaps Adidas, New Balance within the same price range also pops up "suggesting" or “recommending” to you as “related products”. 

Then there is the free delivery service if you purchase more than a certain amount. For example, if you purchase more than RM100, then it comes with free delivery. 

This is all about human psychology and consumer behaviour. 

Let's say that you want to buy a tee-shirt online. Since buying one t-shirt is below RM100 with delivery charge, you may end up buy 2 or 3 tee-shirts so that your total amount can exceed RM100 for your free-delivery entitlement. 

In this case, instead of spending only RM35 for the shirt and perhaps RM5 for the delivery charge, you end up spending RM105 for 3 t-shirts in the name of so-called free delivery charge.

Since you are buying t-shirt, these e-commerce sites will list down all the "related" products that you might be interested about. A sweat shirt that goes well with the tee-shirt. A pair of shorts that makes you look cool with the shirt. A pair of jeans to go with the cool t-shirts will make you stand out amongst your peers. These are the products you never thought of buying initially. But now you end up adding them into your shopping cart and buying them as well. 

At the end of the day, do you save more by shopping online or spending more? 

For most people, they usually end up spending more. They will give themselves excuses such as "These 2 extras are very nice. Different colours. I can wear them in different occasions."; "Ah! Even if I don't usually use this product, but it goes well with what I intend to purchase. Besides, it's cheap!" 

If you don't have self-control and delayed gratification in mind, I would like to suggest to you not to go to Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, etc when you're bored. 

Restrict your online shopping if you can. To better control yourself, remove the credit card numbers saved in your account. This will force you to enter your credit card numbers every single time you want to purchase online. It's tedious but it buys you time to re-think your purchase. You may end up changing your mind and saving you some money!

7.     Walk away from cash rebates in your digital wallet

What do you think of the convenience of using digital wallets like eWallet, Grab Pay, Boost to make payment? 

I personally believe that this is the trend of the future. In fact, Malaysia is quite behind in this digital wallet space. However, with all the aggressive cashback promotions from different brands and products, it's very tempted to buy more things or end up buying items you don't need. 

Just remember that easier to make payment with digital wallet doesn't mean you need to spend more because of cashback or rebates. If you don't have self-control or you are easily tempted, please avoid using digital wallets. Use cash is even better in that sense. No temptation. 

8.     Recycle and declutter old items

By the way, please also go through your old clothes - all of them, periodically. Instead of buying new clothes, you may repair clothing instead of tossing it away. You can start selling those clothes you wore only once. By decluttering, it saves your sanity and some cash.

I love to wear old clothes. Recycle them whenever I can. And I don't buy new clothes every Lunar New Year. In fact, I have some polo and round-neck tees that I have been wearing for more than ten years. All my long-sleeve shirts for work were tailor-made by my mom with her loving hands. But since I started running, I buy more of running vests, tees and shorts instead during sale. Otherwise, I could have saved more. 

Living a simple life, I like to dress casual and minimally. I love to go out in shorts, tee shirts and sandal. For a more formal function, I then wear old jeans with a tee shirt or polo shirt and a pair of sports shoe. Most of my clothes are plain colour, easier for mix and match. And since I am also not brand conscious, I can easily save some money here by choosing something comfortable and value for money. 

Declutter your life. Recycle old items. And you shall automatically shop less.

 

C. How to save money: travel

With AirAsia's tagline 'everyone can fly", we see more and more travellers flying to various places around the world. In fact, many millennials who manage to retire early in their thirties and forties in the United States and Europe resort to traveling the world full time. They live a digital nomadic lifestyle enjoying their lives. Even after you retire, no matter what age you are, you should still dedicate a big chunk of your time to see the world. 

But as you are still working at a 9-to-5 job, you may not be able to travel so often. Besides business strips, you should still travel for relaxation and experience. 

I agree that travel expenses can be one of the largest expenses you will ever incur in a month or a year. Think of the airfare, hotel accommodation, local food adventure, local ground tour packages, and shopping for souvenirs, etc. But we live only once. Jobs fill your pocket, but adventure fills your soul. And travel leaves you speechless and turns you into a story teller. 

1.      Travel on a budget

Therefore, no matter what and how, you should travel. You just need to learn to cut down your vacation spending and travel expenses through budget travel. You can still see the world with a fraction of the cost.

Budget travellers are very conscious of every single cent they spend without sacrificing the joy and fulfilment of travel. In all my life, largely I have been a budget traveller. I extend my frugal living to the times during my travel too. I personally don't feel that there is a lifestyle change or I need to make my travel miserable in order to save money. I'm just maximising every cent I spend on travel yet I have my soul filled. I still come back from travel feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, full of travel stories to tell and travel photos to share on Instagram. 

2.     Choose when to travel

Travel period affects how much you spend. In order to save money during travel, try to travel during low season and weekday. If you can avoid school holidays, festive seasons, and weekends, you can save quite a lot. From airfare to hotel accommodations, you can always get very good deals! 

Based on my personal travel experiences, you can probably save at least RM600 to RM800 on airfare if you travel to Japan during off peak seasons. A trip to Taiwan can cost you at least RM300 more on airfare if you fly during school holidays or weekends. 

For hotel accommodations, you can easily get at least 30% up to 75% discounts on hotel rates during low seasons. You can even get a significant discount on local ground tour packages. And if you shop or go for your foot or body massage when tourists are few, you can always walk away smiling!

3.     Compare airfares 

When you book your air tickets, do compare the airfares amongst a few airlines. A budget airline like AirAsia doesn't necessarily mean it's cheaper than Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or All Nippon Airlines (ANA). Marlindo Airline may charge the same price as AirAsia but it comes with more leg space at your seat and more convenient flight times to your travel destinations. Since now that I have time freedom, I love to pick the cheapest airfare and fly during weekday or off season with no check-in luggage and no in-flight meals. 

4.     Travel light

Yes, you can save if you travel light with only a hand-carry luggage.  That's why practicing minimalist living helps you save money. You don't carry unnecessary things with you. 

When I travel on a one-week trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, etc, I have no check-in luggage. I usually pack a pair of jeans, 5 rolled-up tee shirts, 1 or 2 shorts, and 5 pieces of underwear. That's about it! If I run out of clothes to wear, I will then wash them in the hotel room. I don't like to carry extras. I can always wash. The only time I have check-in luggage is when I travel during cold seasons. I then bring along jackets and extra jeans, etc. 

I was in a Grab Car once on the way to airport with a very interesting driver in his late thirties. He was so shocked when he saw me with just a blue backpack in the car. He asked me, "Are you really going to Thailand for a week?" I replied, "Yes. Why?" He then looked at me full of disbeliefs. "Where is your luggage? Is that all you are carrying?" I smiled back happily and said, "Yes. That's all I am carrying for a one week trip. I even have camera tripod inside my blue backpack." He was so amazed at how I could travel so light. He kept asking me what I packed inside the little blue backpack. 

He then shared with me about how his travels, "I usually have 2 pieces of check-in luggage. You see, I sweat a lot. I need to keep changing my clothes when I travel. Besides, I don't know what occasion I will bump into during travel. Therefore, I bring more clothes so that I can decide what to wear then and there to suit the particular occasion. In fact, my wife carries her own 2 pieces of check-in luggage too. " 

It was my turn to be shocked! It was the first time in my life to have talked to a male traveller carrying 2 suitcases. Why on earth does he need to travel heavy? I'm not too surprised at his wife's travel habit though with 2 pieces of check-in luggage though. Ladies generally have more clothes than men, anyway. Nonetheless, I think his wife can still practise light travel. Should the couple run out of clothes to wear, they can always wash their clothes during travel. 

Recently, I successfully convinced a female friend to travel light on her recent 2-week trip to Japan. It was her first time to use the washing machine at Air BnB to wash her clothes. She said she felt much lighter not having to drag along an extra luggage throughout the journey.

5.     Skip in-flight meal purchases

Besides travel light saving you on check-in luggage charges, do you think you can wait a few more hours to taste delicious local food at your travel destination instead of eating your meals during your flight?

That's how I convince myself not to purchase in-flight meals if they are not provided. I will fill up my stomach beforehand, then wait until I reach my travel destination for the delicious local food. 

You should convince yourself to do the same too. You can probably eat two bowls of yummy clear noodle soup in Thailand with the in-flight meal price that you save.

6.     Use public transport from airport to hotel

When you arrive at your travel destination, you probably habitually hop on a taxi to the hotel. Similarly, on your return, you would probably take a local taxi or Grab Car too from hotel to airport. How about getting around in the cities or places you are visiting? Do you always sign up for local ground tour packages or you hire a self-drive car? 

In many advanced cities and places, you can skip taxi or Grab Car from the airport to your hotel, and vice versa. Local public transportations connecting airports to a bus or train terminals near your hotel are probably available. Do some research before your trips. You don't want to spend your money unnecessarily.

If you are wise enough to choose a hotel near one of the public transportation stations (i.e. LRT stations, MRT stations, train stations or bus stations), you can largely depend on local public transport to bring you to hotel. That will save you quite a lot of money since airports are usually far from the city centres. 

In Chiangmai, you pay only RM2.50 one way on a local bus from Chiangmai Airport to the old moat city centre. Whenever I visit Singapore, I also travel by mass rapid transit from Changi Airport to the hotel in Singapore. In Tokyo and Kyoto, taxi services are so expensive. Thanks to well-connected train and mass rapid transport systems, you can travel cheap and safe to your hotel. Even in Taiwan, you can just hop onto an airport bus or the mass rapid transit train upon your arrival. 

7.     Discover places on foot, by bus or train

With the internet access nowadays, all the travel information is available online. Even if you are new to a destination, you can probably use Google Maps to figure out how to go to a place by foot from your hotel. Or you can hop on a local public transport too to get around. 

Local ground tour package - sign up only if the places you want to visit are too far or inconvenient for you to go with public transport. Even so, please don't simply take up the ground tour package offered by the hotel staff. Ask around. Bargain for better price. You may save some money if you compare price and bargain.

In my honest opinion, the best way to get around in a new place to experience more of local culture, local people, and different things the usual traveller don't get to see is by foot. Yes, walking! 

Walking is the best way to explore a new place! Be an adventurer and explorer! Don't be afraid to get lost! In fact, if you get lost, you will discover a new cafe, a new interesting corner that is not even listed on your travel guide. That makes your whole travel experience filled with even more stories to tell. 

Since I love to take photographs with my mobile phone during travel, I love to travel on foot. It allows me to stop at any place I want, stay as long as I want at a particular place, and see the unseen places that normal tourists don't get to see. 

I spent hours walking and discovering Mount Fuji from various angles in Kawaguchi-ko, Japan in 2018 and 2019. I spent hours on top of a mountain at Big Elephant Trail in Taipei waiting to witness Taipei 101 soaking in golden colour of beautiful sunset. 

I not only see more things, experience more (culture, people, food, etc), I also save money. No taxi! No Grab Car! Only on foot or by public transport! 

Oh yes, you can hop on a public tut-tut (pick-up truck) for only 10 Baht (RM1.40) in Pattaya, Thailand from Pattaya Beach to Jomtien Beach or any other shopping areas within the city. Isn't is cheap and convenient? You can also purchase 5 days or 7 days unlimited rides to all public transportation in Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka in Japan. 

I still signed up for local tour packages to cover faraway places from the city though. Places like rural areas of Yogyakarta and Bali in Indonesia, Phuket’s island hopping, Hualian’s dolphin watching in Taiwan require local tour packages. But to the best I can, I travel on foot and by public transport. 

Similarly, you can do the same to be more adventurous and save on local transportation expenses.

8.     What you need is just a clean room and a comfortable bed in a budget hotel

Besides airfare, I believe hotel accommodation is the next most expensive item you need to pay for during travel. It usually puts a dent in your travel pocket.

Many of you may love to pamper yourself by staying in 5-star hotel resorts either in down town area, a remote mountain somewhere or a pristine beach. You can indulge yourself in the widespread buffet breakfast every morning. You can soak yourself in the resort-style swimming pool. You can make an appointment for a two-hour facial treatment and body massage services with five-star service. You can order hotel food into your room while lying down on the comfort of high-quality bed watching exciting movies on cable tv channels. In the evenings, you can  drink some wine at the hotel bar lounge listening to local famous bands performing the latest hit songs. If you belong to this travel group, it's hard for you to save money. I guess I will classify this as luxury travel. 

But if you want to save money when travel, staying in a budget hotel is the best choice. Staying in a budget hotel can easily cut your travel expenses by RM100 to RM300 a night. If you stay for a week, you can easily save RM700 to RM2,100 on hotel accommodation alone. 

If possible, choose a budget hotel near the main central bus / train / MRT terminal. First of all, you can conveniently travel from airport to the budget hotel by local bus or mass rapid transit system at the cheapest price possible. Secondly, when you go around to explore places, you can easily check the schedule, hop on different buses or trains to your travel destination. It can become your day trip. You leave your hotel early in the morning. You walk to the central station. Then you catch the next available bus or train or MRT to your destination (s) for the day. You will come back to the central station in the late evening after one day's out. Then you slowly walk back to your hotel taking your dinner along the way. Even when you explore a new place on foot, central station is the best way to start off too with most of the tourist attractions nearby. 

In my personal opinion, you don’t want to stay in hotel whole day when travel. You want to go out to explore places. If you spend the whole day in 5-star hotel resort, what you see and experience is just the hotel facilities, and nothing more. But by planning your travel in such a way that I suggest, you get to have a travel adventure. You get to experience more.

This also means that you basically do not need a luxury hotel to stay in. You will be wasting your money! 

You just need a simple, clean, quiet hotel room with a nice comfortable bed and a good Wi-Fi system. You basically will be tired after a long day out exploring interesting places. You just need a place to sleep. And if the hotel comes with free breakfast, it will be a bonus. Otherwise, you can also eat your breakfast at local food stalls or restaurants in the mornings. 

When I visited Taiwan, I stayed in a clean local hotel under RM200 a night with free breakfast near Taipei Main Station. 

When I visited Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Mount Fuji), I stayed at either Air BnB or a local hotel about 1.5 km within the vicinity of Shinjuku Station, Kyoto Station, Osaka Station and Kawaguchi-ko Train Station (Mount Fuji). I paid under RM300 a night in Japan. You will be amazed that traveling to Japan can have such affordable accommodations during low season. Some of these places that I stayed would be charging around RM500 a night during peak season. 

Due to low-season period, I also managed to get a room for RM70 a night which would usually cost RM150 at a 3-star hotel with a swimming pool in Pattaya, Thailand. It's located a mere 1km walk to Pattaya beach, passing through a morning market, a night market, and many street vendors selling local delicious Thai food. 

9.     Hostel stay to make new friends

If you are as adventurous as me, you can try out hostel stay too. This is before covid-19 pandemic hit us worldwide through. I'm not too sure how it will be like after the covid-19 pandemic is over. Perhaps it might not be such a good idea to stay in hostel sharing rooms with other backpackers or budget travellers from all over the world until a vaccine is out. 

In true fact, hostel stay is quite a very wonderful travel experience. You get to save even more on your accommodation. 

I stayed in a 6-bed mixed hostel room with a beautiful swimming pool for RM25 a night in Chiangmai, Thailand in 2019. I then stayed in a 4-bed mixed hostel room with a cute Garfield cat always lazing around in the homely lobby area in Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand for RM15 a night. 

Since I am a person full of curiosity in all things when I travel,  it was quite easy for me to make friends and mix with others at the hostels. I stayed with a Japanese university student who took a year off to travel the world. I also stayed with a Marketing Director in her late twenties from Sweden who got sick and tired of corporate life that she decided to travel for 3 months on a shoestring budget. I chatted with a lady from South America who has been traveling for 6 months. She teaches English online while travel to make money to pay for her travel expenses. I stayed with a retired 67 year-old nurse from Alaska, USA, who was on a 7-month assignment with an NGO helping the stateless people staying in the remote mountains (main from Myanmar, who came to Thailand illegally) to be treated in Chiangmai hospitals. I stayed with a young chap from China who spent 6 months in Chiangmai learning Thai massage while travel. 

You can make friends from all over the world. Everyone has such an interesting life story to tell. You can't use money to pay for such great travel experiences. You get to experience all these only if you stay in hostels.

With the money saved on accommodation, you can possibly use the money to buy yourself a new air ticket for your next travel destination.

10.   Eat local food at where locals eat

There are plenty of choices to eat when travel. Of course, to experience more of local culture, the best is to be with the locals, to eat local food with them, wherever you go. 

You can probably dine at nice seafood restaurants or posh cafes when you are overseas. But try not to make it into an everyday affair, especially in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore where prices are much higher than in Malaysia.

I still think the best local food is street food sold by local vendors at the road side, night market, and food court in shopping mall. They are cheap, delicious and authentic. Furthermore, you will be supporting the local small traders. 

I hardly eat at restaurants when I visit Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Taiwan. These countries have so many places with wide variety of street food. 

You can eat authentic papaya salad for 50Baht and Phat Thai for 60Baht in Thailand on the road side stall. You can eat delicious Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore food court for only SGD3.50. In Taiwan, you can eat almost all types of rice and noodles for RM10 or less. 

Besides street food at roadside, night market and food court, most local convenience stores and supermarkets sell very good selection of lunch and dinner boxes and sandwiches. 

During my previous trips to Japan, I had my healthy, fresh Japanese bento sets, sandwiches, sushi sets from Lawson, 7-Eleven, Family Mart. A nice value-for-money Bento set is sold for under JPY500 (RM18.00) at convenience stores. Most of them provide tables and chairs for you to dine in too with microwave oven to heat up your food before eating. Even the bakery from these convenience stores in Japan is super fresh and delicious. I love Japanese bread by the way. What a wonderful way to save money on food in Japan!

You can also check out local supermarkets for value-for-money food. If you go to local supermarkets after 8.00 pm during happy hours, you can get additional 30% discount on most of the fresh food items. I bought high quality dinner sets during happy hour (after 8pm) at major supermarkets for under JPY500 (RM18.00) after discount. Who says you can't eat cheap in Japan? 

If all else fails, you still can find some restaurants and cafes in shopping malls offering reasonably-priced set meals. For example, you can get a lunch set meal or ramen set for around RM36 (JPY10,000) in Shinjuku station area in Tokyo if you know how to look for it. The food is as high quality, as delicious, as fresh as any other fine dining restaurants.

11.   Control your vacation shopping 

There are so many interesting things to buy when you travel. Most common items are t-shirts with local designs (especially those with printed name of your destination), cute little souvenirs or handmade handicrafts that you can give to your colleagues or friends, local snacks which you can share with others when you are back. You may also shop for the latest models of branded goods which can be cheaper overseas and not available in Malaysia yet. Then there is the local brand. You can be unique and outstanding if you wear it in Malaysia. 

But for vacation shopping, you shall think further before you buy. There is this common mindset of travellers which I personally also fall into the trap several times. 

When you are tempted to buy so many things during travel, how do you control yourself? You and I like to convince ourselves to buy with all sorts of excuses. "If I don't buy now. I don't know when I will be back to this country again." "If I don’t buy it, I’m not sure if I can get the same in Malaysia.” “This item is so unique. It will make my home look beautiful.”

Please remember that you buy only if it's cheaper than in Malaysia. You buy only if you can't find the same item in Malaysia. With no check-in luggage, you buy only if you can hand carry them into the airplane or stuff them into your cabin bag which is probably packed with your own clothing and toiletries. (Now you know that by traveling light, it also limits what you can bring back. Hence, it further saves you money.) Don't be like some travellers whereby they end up buying an empty suitcase to put all the new purchases to bring home. 

Therefore, think twice before you buy when you are overseas. 

I used to buy souvenirs, t-shirts and snacks for myself, family members, colleagues and friends whenever I travelled. I bought 20 key chains as giveaways before. I bought 8 t-shirts as giveaways before. I bought all sorts of snacks as giveaways before. I used to receive key chains, fridge magnets, and all sorts of creative little souvenir items from my colleagues myself. It was very thoughtful and nice of them to even take the hassle to buy souvenirs for me. 

Then one day it hit me! Did all recipients of my little souvenirs like what I gave to them? I doubt all of them liked what I gave. I can’t speak for others but personally, I don't like to keep all these little souvenirs. I am a practical guy trying to keep things to the minimal. 

I still have a shoe box full of souvenirs that I bought for myself and I received from others over the years. They all ended up in a shoe box. I don't use them. I don't need them. I realised that they were all my impulse buys. Whatever others bought for me, I was full of gratitude for their generosity but unfortunately, I ended up not needing them. 

Have you have such experiences as me? It's due to such collective experiences that I've finally decided not to buy any souvenir items for anyone anymore. I really don't know if others like the souvenirs. Because of this reason, I usually ended up buying nothing or just some local snacks to bring home. 

Now that I'm no longer working in corporate world, I have less people to buy for. I buy only local t-shirts for my dad and domestic helper, and local snacks for my sister's family. That's about it! 

Therefore, you may want to reconsider if it's really necessary to buy souvenirs for everyone you know back in office or not. Perhaps it's not necessary. You are not being stingy. You are being practical. 

12.   Collect memories, not things

Are you one of those who loves to collect some specific items to remember your by when you travel?

I have a few friends who are travel item’s collectors. Some collect Starbucks mugs and tumblers from all the destinations they visit. They have a beautiful shelf at home to display them. Some love to collect Hardrock Cafes’ t-shirts with only different location name printed on the t-shirts. Some collect key chains with printed local landmarks and names. They display them on a customised wall board in their living rooms. Some collect fridge magnets and fill their fridge door in the kitchen.

If these purchases bring them joy, then go ahead. However, a few of them already share their regrets with me. One of them recently moved into a smaller condo unit. And all his key chains he collected over the years which used to be on display on a wall ended up in a shoebox due to limited space in the new rented condo unit.

If you want to collect any souvenirs for your travels, I suggest you to collect travel memories and experiences, not physical items. 

All your travel experiences enrich you as a person. You can take photos of places that you visit, food that you eat, people that you meet. You can write a travel journal or a blog to record down your travel experiences. You can record your travel moments on video on your mobile phone. I believe collecting memories and experiences is not only saving you money, it is even longer lasting. Afterall, it doesn't take up any physical space or spend any money at all.

 

D. How to save money: food

Some people eat to live. Some people live to eat. To others, the only thing better than talking about food is eating. 

Essentially, we all need to eat every day. Food is our body’s field. Without fuel, our body will shut down. 

The question is: how can you save on food every day? Otherwise, you may end up listening more to your stomach than your pocket.

1.      Eat out less

Eating out is expensive. Depending on where and what you eat, eating out can easily cost you 2 to 5 times more than making your own meals at home.

Fried rice, which can be easily made at home for less than RM2.00 a plate, can cost you RM6.00 to RM8.00 a plate at hawker centre, or RM10.00 to RM15.00 a plate at a cafe or restaurant. If you eat out too often, you may end up delaying your financial independence goal. A cent saved is a cent earned. 

Of course you still can eat out, but plan it ahead of time so that it's not an impulse buy. You can make it an effort to eat out one less time a month. 

That's why I encourage you to track your daily expenses. Using expense / spending tracker mobile app is good. You can keep track of how frequent and how much you spend on eating out. 

When you are at your workplace, I know it's quite hard not to have your lunch outside with colleagues. Perhaps you should try to bring your own lunch to work at least once a week to office. Monday may be a good day for you to bring your own lunch. You have more time to prepare beforehand on Sunday evenings at home. 

I personally used to pack lunch from home to office. When I was based in Jakarta, I prepared pasta on Sunday nights at my small apartment. Usually I prepared 5 portions: one was for my Sunday dinner; and the other 4 portions were for my lunches at office from Monday to Thursday. I put them nicely into food containers and stored them in the fridge. They were still fresh and food for my office lunches. That saved me some money from eating out. 

More importantly, I was doing it more for my health after I found out I had hypertension from my work stress and unhealthy outside food. I still couldn't avoid not to eat outside since I was staying alone in Jakarta. But at least I made an effort to prepare some healthier food and salad myself. It saved me money and gained my health back. 

When I was working with EP Manufacturing Berhad in Batang Kali (Selangor), there were limited choices on restaurants to go to. It was quite a remote area with mainly factories in the surroundings. My mom prepared lunches for me to bring to office on Monday to Thursday. 

At Jobstreet.com office, I was known to be a salad man, fruit man, and oats man. My breakfast was simply oats, milk powder and fruits. My lunch was simply tuna salad and fruits. My tea time snack was simply apples and oranges. All brought to office from home. I think I easily saved RM800 a year.

Nonetheless, I still insisted on eating out on Fridays because I wanted to have the opportunity to have lunch with my colleagues at least once a week. It was for friendship, bonding and relationship building. 

How about weekends? You might be tempted to eat out on both Saturdays and Sundays with family and friends. Many people can easily spend more money on food during weekend alone than they would spend during weekdays. Perhaps they are more relaxed and they think they should treat themselves well after a week's hard work in office.

If you are determined to achieve your financial freedom earlier, you should plan to cut down on eating out during weekends as well. I only eat out on Saturdays with friends. During Sundays, I prefer to stay at home enjoying home-cooked food. Sunday is also my personal "me" time and my time with family at home. 

You might find it hard to do this every week. But if you can control yourself from eating out at least once or twice a month during weekends, it's going to be good enough. Start it small, slowly but surely. 

2.     Eat out frugally

Different food costs differently. Japanese and Western food may cost more than a local Malaysian dish. Seafood (fish, prawns, crabs) may cost more than poultries (chicken, pork). Chicken, pork, and beef dishes may cost more than vegetable dishes. 

However, if you walk into a vegetarian restaurants, some dishes are priced equivalent to prices of meat dishes in non-vegetarian restaurants. Fast foods at McDonalds, KFC, etc are expensive too. Usually the portions are large but do you really need to eat so much?

For the same dish - let's say, seafood or western food, you will pay different prices at different venues due to the different ambience, service and quality. Eating out at hotel restaurants is more expensive than eating at standard restaurants. Eating out at standard restaurants is more expensive than eating at cafes. Eating out at cafes is more expensive than eating at food courts in shopping malls. Eating out at food courts in shopping malls is more expensive than eating at hawker centres or roadside. 

I'm not saying that you shouldn't indulge yourself in your favourite food. You should, if that makes you happy. Just try not to lose sight of your big ultimate financial freedom goal. Cut down the frequency you eat Japanese food or Western food or Seafood outside. And if you can, order smaller servings. I only eat at restaurants or cafes once a month or during functions. For that once-a-month meal, I usually opt for Korean or Japanese. 

If you haven't realised, drinks are expensive. 

Sometimes you think the food is cheap but when you add in with your ordered drinks, suddenly your food bill bloats up. You can easily pay 20% or more if you order drinks. 

Therefore, you either stick to water (which is also chargeable at most food joints and restaurants) or bring your own bottled water. You will be surprised at how much you can save from just drinking healthy plain water.

I have a habit of keeping water in my car or bringing my water tumbler everywhere. Whenever I eat in a restaurant, I like to order warm water instead of fruit juice or carbonated drinks. By drinking more water, it helps my digestion. It also saves me money. RM1.80 for a glass of barley water in a coffee shop is way too expensive. Same glass of barley water can easily cost you RM3.00 to RM4.00 in a café. I can buy 3 packets of barley and boil into many pots of barley water for RM1.50. Drinking plain water alone while eating out can easily save me RM360 a year.

Having said that, you should always consciously eat more at hawker centres and food courts instead of eating at nice restaurants all the time. It’s the best way to eat out on a budget. It’s also my most preferred choice. It saves me hundreds of Ringgit in a year. 

3.     Eat at home

Home-cooked food is the best of all! 

Preparing your own meals at home saves you a lot of money every year compared to eating out. You eat healthier too! Additionally, you can have more bonding time with your family members at the comfort of your home. You can cook and eat whatever you want at home yet not cost you a bomb like in restaurant! If your daily diet consists of mainly vegetables than meat, it's not only healthy, but it also saves you even more money!

For your grocery shopping, do a price comparison and find a cheaper supermarket or hypermarket near your area. Then plan out your meals or what to cook for the week in advance and stick to a list while grocery shopping. Don't simply pick up things not on your grocery shopping list. If possible, skip those isles with carbonated drinks or packed drinks. There is nothing better than drinking plain water. 

Having said that, be kind to yourself. You want to feed your body with healthy, nutritious food. If you want to eat fish daily, don't be stingy on it. Go ahead and buy them. 

I usually go to NSK hypermarket once a week for grocery shopping with our domestic helper. During covid-19 pandemic period with movement control order, I then went alone every 10-12 days instead. 

The night before the grocery shopping day, our domestic helper will take a stock of what's left in the fridge so that we know what to buy the next day. She then writes down on a piece of paper as a shopping list. During our grocery shopping, I focus on buying fruits, fish and poultries, while our domestic helper focuses on buying vegetables, and other household items. 

We eat a lot of vegetables. Even at times, there are shoppers looking at our trolleys and starting to question how long we are stocking up for. They are surprised that we buy so much for just the three of us at home for a week’s supply. On average, I spend around RM1,200 a month for the three of us. If I break it down by day, it comes out to be around RM13 per day per person. Imagine, for only RM13 per day per person, we get to have fish, chicken, lots of vegetables and fruits in our diet daily. 

Home cooking is also much healthier than eating out. We don't put MSG (monosodium glutamate) in our cooking. And we use less salt and less oil too. 80% of the times, all the meals are either steamed, cooked in soup or grilled. The only thing that we fry is small fish like sardine and kembung fish. As for big fish, it’s usually steamed. 

It's good that you prepare your meals daily to keep them fresh. If there is any leftovers, don't throw away. You can just jazz them up the next day for another round of home-cooked meal. 

For the days you don't feel like cooking, you can make more when you cook and freeze it for next couple of days as well. 

Just try your best not to give yourself excuses to eat out. If you give yourself excuse once, you will give yourself excuses again and again. 

After my early retirement, I eat three meals at home on weekdays as much as I can. During weekends, I do eat out one or two meals. Based on my estimation, I save around RM1,500 a year.  You can too!

 

E. How to save money: entertainment and lifestyle

You want to live your life, not to buy a lifestyle. 

1.      Quit living a lifestyle of wants

Most people nowadays love to have a lifestyle based on wants, not needs. They want to be seen. They want to follow the trend set by others. They want to be accepted in the society. They want to be part of the norm. 

Therefore, going to a bar or pub to drink after office hours, especially Fridays, seems to be the best gossip place for working professionals. Going to Karaoke to sing their hearts out seems to be the most effective way to reduce weekly work stress. Frequenting night clubs on weekends to dance their nights away seems to be the best exercise. Having a cup of Starbucks coffee or Tealive bubble tea after office lunches seem to show to the world that they are cultured and trendy. Catching up with their friends and colleagues at beautiful cafes over delicious cakes and set meals seems to bond them closer. Celebrating their colleagues and friends' birthdays over buffet dinner at hotel restaurants or fancy restaurants seems to prove their strong friendships. 

But in actual fact, most of the entertainment and lifestyle choices seem to show their wants than needs. 

Entertainment and lifestyle spending is one of the top monthly expenses for most people. 

If you fall into this category of people living a lifestyle of wants with bars, pubs, karaoke, night clubs, cafes, and restaurants in your life, you can definitely save thousands of Malaysian Ringgit if you can remove or reduce these venues from your life. 

Do remember that entertainment doesn't have to be costly. Friendships and relationships are not built on how much you splash on them. Happiness can't be bought with spending more. Once you understand this principle and value, you will then realise that living a simple lifestyle truly saves you a lot of money.

I used to frequent karaoke, pubs and discos for entertainment when I was in my twenties and early thirties. But once I realised the importance of saving money, I slowly cut them out totally or reduced them to the minimum. For those friends whom I used to hang out at pubs and night clubs, they understand my choices and respect my decision. 

A friend spends close to RM2,000 annually on Starbucks alone. That's Starbucks or caffeine addiction! I'm glad that I'm not a coffee lover. I get headache if I drink coffee. As for tea, I can drink but not after 7pm. Otherwise, I have difficulty sleeping. It's a blessing in disguise because I then don't frequent Starbucks or Tealive so often. If ever, it will only probably be once in a blue moon for green tea Frappuccino or bubble milk tea. 

Don’t buy a lifestyle! Live your life!

2.     Get outside and be with the nature

There are many studies with evidence that being with the nature makes you healthier and happier. Best of all, the nature is free. 

You can take a walk in the nearby parks, run the roads or trails, swim at rivers or waterfalls, play football at the fields, hike up neighbourhood hills, let your children play at outdoor playgrounds, practise yoga in the gardens, cycle around the neighbourhood, picnic at public parks, or fish at a lake or pond. These are all outdoor activities which will not only connect you with the nature, they are all free, saving you lots of money. 

It is much better and healthier than bringing your children to the shopping malls every weekend, or spending your time with friends at cafes and restaurants, or going for karaoke or night clubs at night.

You may argue that the weather in Malaysia is very hot and humid. It's very hard to get outside and be with the nature. Well, you still can choose to enjoy the nature in the morning or in the evenings when the sun is not so hot. These nature activities ensures you to have full dose of Vitamin D from the sun which certainly make you healthier and happier.

3.     Go to free events and have fun for free

Your community has many free events that you can go to for fun and learning. The events can be sports related (running, yoga, hiking), art and craft related (painting workshops), or simply community activities for all ages. They are entertaining, full of learnings and social interactions. 

You can check out Facebook, community websites, and local newspapers for all the latest happenings in your area. You are bound to find some free local events that excite you. Have fun while learning for free! This is definitely a great way not to spend money while keeping you entertained!

I love to join selected running clinics organised by some local running groups. I also love to visit weekend markets when time permits for creative ideas and soaking myself in enterprising spirit of the small traders. These are the free "entertainment" events that I enjoy very much. How about you?

On volunteerism, a runner friend was a volunteer to help out other runners at the free Park Run every Saturday before Covid-19 pandemic hit us. You can also be like him becoming a volunteer at such community events contributing back to society.

4.     Read more

If you choose to go to places with air-conditioning, and you enjoy reading, you can pop into one of the local libraries or bookstores. 

Libraries are not only meant for high school, college and university students. They are meant for everyone, including working adults and retirees. Besides hundreds and thousands of free books, you can also find free movies, music, and more in the libraries. 

A library is a house of hope. It's a place where you, whatever your situation, can feed your ideas and develop your dreams. It's also a place where you can save money with full access to all the free resources. You can have a fulfilled soul and a healthy wallet by spending time in your local library.

If you find it challenging to visit local library, you can opt for local bookstores like Popular, MPH, or Kinokuniya. You can spend hours browsing through books on career, management, personal finance. self-development, sports, health or any topics of your preference. You can also read non-fiction books by your famous authors to enrich your thoughts and life. 

The only setback about visiting bookstores in shopping malls is the fact that you will be enticed by all the other shops. Make sure your sole purpose is to the bookstore and not be distracted by other shops. Otherwise, you end up spending more. 

I love a little bookstore called Cite Bookstore in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, a 10-minute walk from my home. Cite Bookstore is one of the largest online Chinese bookstores in Malaysia. Its physical shop takes up only one shophouse unit. 

The reason why I love to spend time in Cite Bookstore is because of its quiet environment with soothing music in the background with some seats for free reading. I can easily spend half a day there each time I visit. There is a retired auntie in her late 60s who frequents the bookstore daily. She usually spends half a day there. I see her each time I visit the bookstore. 

I also love to hang out at Popular bookstore and MPH. They are my most favourite shops at shopping malls, my must visit places when I go to a mall.

Don’t get me wrong! I don’t go for free reading all the time. I do buy books because I love reading. And I want to support authors and publishers. For the books I love and I tend to read them over and over again, I still buy them. I bought all the book titles written by Mitch Albom, and other non-fiction books written by other authors as well as many self-development books in both English and Chinese. When I read at home, I read them slowly for more absorption and self-reflection. I jot down notes inside the books for reference. 

Besides library and bookstore, you can also opt for free online e-books, e-magazines, and news portals. 

As for newspaper, I suggest you to subscribe either the physical dailies or the digital version. This is not going to cost much. I pay RM48 a month for Sin Chew Daily Newspaper to be delivered to my home. My 96 year-old dad reads it daily. I read it daily. My mom used to read it daily when she was still around with us. The newspaper content has kept us up to date with many common conversation topics. 

5.     Watch movies on off days at discounted prices

Watching movie is almost everyone's pastime. However, movie tickets are getting more and more expensive nowadays. You can pay cheaper prices for the same movies if you are a wise consumer.

Movie ticket prices vary depending on location, day and time. Most movie operators have different movie ticket prices based on their locations, and days / times of the week. If you watch a movie at a mega shopping mall compared to a neighbourhood mall, you may end up paying higher price. A movie ticket for the same Hollywood blockbuster at Mid Valley is more expensive than at 3 Damansara Shopping Mall. 

Watching movie during weekends and public holidays are more expensive than during watching the same movie during weekdays. If you watch a movie before 6pm on a weekday, you may enjoy 50% off from your movie ticket. A movie ticket for matinee show before 12pm is definitely cheaper than movies shown in the evenings. Sometimes a particular day of the week can be ladies' nights whereby ladies can enjoy movies at discounted prices. 

If you sign up as movie operator's member and receive their e-newsletter, you may be entitled to 2 free movie tickets during your birthday month. Some credit card companies work closely with movie theatre operators offer great discounts or cash rebates if you pay with their credit cards. 

By the way, you don't need to watch every single movie no matter how hardcore a movie buff you are. You should select those you enjoy and love, not to be in movie theatres to "kill your time" since you may have nothing else to do. 

Another point to note, don't forget about parking fees. Watching a movie at shopping malls requires minimum 3 hours of parking. Perhaps a movie theatre with cheaper parking fees can save you some money.

Personally, I used to watch movies every Saturday evenings with friends at neighbourhood mall with cheaper movie ticket and cheaper parking rate. It's my favourite Saturday evening pastimes. 

But after some bad experiences of watching not so good movies that made me yawn and almost want to leave half way through the show, I have decided to read movie reviews first before I decide to watch any movies. That significantly helps to cut down movie watching frequencies, saving me some money. 

Occasionally, I also watch movies during weekends before 12 noon for cheaper movie tickets. I'm yet to try to watch movies during weekdays though. It's harder to find friends to watch during weekdays when most of them are working. I also used to receive 2 free movie tickets during my birthday month from GSC. I used them to watch free movies which have been aired for a while. 

How about popcorn and drinks during movie time? 

If you watch movies with a full stomach or after your meal, then perhaps you can skip the popcorn and drinks. It's more of a habitual culture to eat popcorn while watching movie. This culture has originated from America if I'm not mistaken. 

When I was small living in Langkawi, eating sunflower seeds and peanuts seemed to be the most popular food at movies. Of course, now they are prohibited in cinema theatres due to the noisy biting sound, and dirty floor created by sunflower seeds and peanut shells thrown on the floors. Therefore, we have popcorn, hot dogs, soft drinks instead in today's society. 

If you can control yourself from the fragrant smell of caramel-flavoured popcorn from movie goers sitting near you, then you can just skip the popcorn and other food. 

6.     Pay for what you need only for cable TV channels / movie streaming service / home data plan

Most of you have either Astro cable TV, or movie streaming service like Netflix with unlimited data plan. It's a home entertainment for the whole family. 

But do you know that this monthly recurring "home entertainment" fees will add up and can easily cost you more than RM2,000 or more a year if you are not mindful about it? 

I was helping my neighbour the other day to fix her Astro channels. Then I realised that they have both Astro channels as well as Android TV Box with Unifi data plan. 

Aunty is in her mid 70s. She has been watching her favourite Chinese TV programs on Astro channels all these years. She also finds it troublesome to use Android TV Box. It ends up that Android TV Box and unlimited data plan are really underutilized. I highlighted to her that her son is paying double for the "home entertainment". I suggest for her to cancel one of them to save money. 

If you watch Astro, you may want to cancel the channels you don't watch. If you use unlimited data plan at home, do re-evaluate to see if you really need the unlimited Wi-fi package or not. 

A lot of times consumers end up overpaying for the services that they don't use. If you are not a heavy movie buff, you can also use your own mobile phone as hotspot instead. Besides, you will be in the office the entire day during weekdays. You can use office Wi-fi instead. But if you have a family at home, then it's unavoidable. Just subscribe to what you need. 

I used to subscribe to Astro for my parents to watch Chinese channels many years back. However, they only watched one-hour news and one-hour drama series in the afternoon daily. As for me, I used to work late and I didn't manage to watch much on Astro anyway. 

After a year of subscription, I decided to cancel the service. We have been watching the free local TV stations on televisions ever since. And we don't feel like we are missing out on anything. If I were to take the Astro value package today, it will be RM74 per month. That means it's an annual saving of RM888 for me.

I subscribe to a 15GB data plan for my part-time consulting work from home. I do zoom meeting using this data plan. But definitely 25GB monthly is not enough to watch movies or YouTube heavily. I refused to sign up for 25GB or even 50GB data plan because I may end up underutilising them in some months. With the lower data plan, should I run out of Wi-fi data to use,  I can then use my mobile phone as Wi-fi hotspot as backup.

7.     Reduce your cell phone plan

Some friends of mine have cell phone plans with high data. Yet, they pay extra RM5 a month or so for unlimited Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram social media usage. They get their entertainment from watching YouTube and content from Facebook, Instagram, etc. Some are even avid Tik Tok users putting a lot of laughter and joy into their lives. 

However, the "fear of missing out" (FOMO), and "fear of not having enough data" cripples them from going for the minimum service plan. They opt for the maximum service plan instead. 

Unfortunately, in most instances, these cell phone services are underutilized. They end up paying more for what they never use. By right, the correct approach is to go for the minimum. Then if it's not enough, they can always choose to top up as and when the needs arise.

If you can, go through your cell phone bill, check on your monthly data usage, look for services you don't use, and ditch them. Keep to the minimum. 

How about sticking to the same telco operator for life? I warn you – you may end up spending more for the same service plan which might be more affordable from a different telco company. 

I personally experienced this in February 2020 after my 24-month contract with a telco company (because of iPhone8 purchase) is over. Since I have retired early, I am even more conscious of every single cent I spend. Hence, I started to look at all the offerings offered by different telco companies. 

Finally, I switched my service plan from Telco A to Telco B. I find that Telco B Mobile service plan is not only more affordable, it also provides me with unlimited data plan vs 40GB data plan from Telco A. The speed is faster too in my most frequented places and neighbourhoods. I find the customer service to be excellent as well. 

In terms of savings, switching from Telco A to Telco B saves me RM40 a month, or RM480 a year. In fact, I can buy 2 return air tickets to Phuket, Thailand in a year with the RM480 I save. 

When I shared this wonderful news with an ex-colleague who is paying RM90 for his service plan with another telco company, he said that he is so used to this same telco company that he doesn't want to switch. I respect his decision. 

But for me personally, if I don't put the RM480 saving in the bank, flying twice a year to Phuket, Pattaya or Krabi in Thailand is too tempting not to switch!

Whether you stick to your most favourite telco company or not; whether you subscribe to unlimited data plan or not, the most important thing is to sign up to only what you need and always look out for the best value in town.

 

F. How to save money: family and friends

For gatherings, you can invite your friends or family members over to your place instead of going out. By opening your place to friends, it also shows your sincerity and honesty in welcoming them into your personal life. 

You can prepare all the food for your guests but a better way is to have a pot luck. Each person bringing a dish will make the gathering even more fun and exciting. You can get a chance to taste each person's cooking. Perhaps you will hear a joke or two on how the cake is over baked and turned into black colour. 

You can also organise a movie night or some fun activities at your place. 

What if your gathering is for a festive celebration? For example, Christmas or Raya? If the gathering involves gift-exchange, perhaps everyone should know the budget for the gift exchange item. Usually. between RM20 to RM50 will allow you to find some wonderful gift items for exchanges. There is no place like a cosy home sofa to relax and chit chat the night away with some good friends and family members! 

How about those birthday presents or birthday lunches and dinners for your family members and friends? It's always good to set a budget on your spending for gift items and birthday treats. A perfume can set you RM150 back. 

If you have 10 birthdays to celebrate in a year and your budget is always RM150 per person, you will be spending RM1,500 a year alone purely on gifts. If the person is your colleague or you have mutual friends, you can always have a group birthday celebration lunch or dinner. If there are 5 of you, you can split the bill of the birthday person amongst 5 of you. Similarly, you can also share the birthday presents. By doing that, you are reducing your spending tremendously. 

For your selected best friends or family members, please go ahead and have your separate birthday celebrations and presents for them. It's a show of your appreciation and sincerity to them as they celebrate their special days. 

Not all presents need to be bought though.

For those of you who are creative, you can make your own gifts instead of buying stuff from the shops. Your hand-made gifts or cards are more meaningful. It also saves you some money even though money saving is not your intention at first place.

Another interesting way is to give the gift of labour. 

You can be a "server for a day" for your best friend or colleague by making them coffee, cleaning up their work desks,  be their runners to buy lunch, etc. If it's your mother's birthday, you can give her full day to rest with no chores at home. You do a body massage or facial for your mom at home. You can then roll up your sleeve to do her daily chores. You prepare three meals for the whole family. You take out dirty clothes and wash them clean. You sweep and mop the floor. You go to morning market to buy a week's grocery. I am sure she will love this very much, much more than going out to eat at a fancy restaurant. 

As you grow older, more and more of your colleagues, friends and family members may get married. You need to have a budget for the wedding gift or angpow (usually in cash) when you attend their wedding functions. This is something you can't save upon. It's their big day - once in a lifetime! You shall save on others and be generous in the wedding token.

People like myself in my fifties have less weddings to attend. Instead, there are more wake services and funeral services to attend. Life is so unpredictable and fragile. In recent years, I attended quite a number of wake services. A 49 year-old ex-colleague passed away due to full stroke. A 47 year-old runner friend passed away from a hit-and-run car accident while she was running a full marathon as a pacer. Another friend in his early fifties passed away while jogging at Desa Park City apparently due to heart blockage. A friend's sister passed away due to breast cancer in early forties. 

If you are approaching my age, you are bound to experience what I'm experiencing. Again, please be generous to your dear friends who have died young. There is no point to save on your last appreciation to them on this earth. It's also a kind gesture to their families. 

However, you don't have to have a separate budget for this. You can channel your budgets for wedding gifts to the tokens during wake services.

After I've retired early from corporate world, I realised that circle of friends from work place has shrank tremendously. From where I used to be surrounded by colleagues and friends at work, now I'm down to only a handful of close friends. 

I am very comfortable with smaller circle of friends. It comes quite naturally in fact. Sooner or later, most people tend to stick to only a handful of close friends in their lives. It also means that more savings from all the birthdays and weddings and wake services. Meanwhile, I treasure the selected few friends even more. 

 

G. How to save money: health

There is nothing more important than health, not even money. You can have all the money in the world but if you lose your health, you lose the world. 

The body is your temple. You have only one body. The parts in your body can't be easily replaced like car's spare parts. You should take the very best care of your body no matter what. 

Keep your body as healthy as possible through healthy eating and more exercises! Staying healthy means less visitations to doctors. 

Don’t skimp on preventive healthcare. You don't want to fall ill and end up paying all your hard-earned money to the doctors and hospitals. Prevention is better than cure! Health is wealth! 

Hence, you can save money on other stuff like clothes, travel, entertainment, home furnishings, etc, but try not to cut back on anything related to your health. 

1.      Compare prices before you purchase

Having said that, you can be a smart shopper, paying less for the same medicine or health products. For instance, private hospitals over charge on prescription drugs. The cheapest prescription drug you can get is from government hospital. The next best choice is to buy them at your neighbourhood pharmacies.  

Even when you buy at neighbourhood pharmacies, please compare prices first before you buy. Some items can be more expensive at pharmacy A while other items may be cheaper.  If you are a smart consumer, you will buy items from the pharmacy that sells the cheapest. Afterall, it’s the same product, charged differently. Look out for sales which can give you a very good deal. If there are any store brand over-the counter medications, you can purchase them. It's usually cheaper. 

I have been bringing my dad to see his regular doctor at Pantai Ampang Hospital every 3 months since many years back. For his prescription drugs, I don't buy them at the hospital. Instead, I buy them at either Big Pharmacy or AA Pharmacy after some price comparison. I also buy all over-the-counter health-related supplements at either Big, AA, Watsons or Guardian, depending on where it's cheaper. It definitely saves me quite a lot of money as my dad's expenses on his prescription drugs and health products alone run into RM400-RM700 a month. 

I think if I were to buy those prescription drugs at hospital, I may easily end up spending additional RM100 – RM300 each month. And this excludes doctor's consultation fee, blood test and urine test every three months. A cent saved is a cent earned. 

2.     Medically covered by your company’s insurance

As long as you work for a company with good medical and compensation plan, you do save a lot of money. All your medical and dental expenses, clinic visits, prescription drugs purchased from clinic and hospitals are claimable. Should you be hospitalised for a surgery, it's usually covered too under a good company's health plan. That's the wonderful thing about being at a 9-to-5 job. 

If you choose to own your own health plan, which you should, then you should review your health insurance plans frequently, especially critical illness, hospitalisation and surgery. It's highly recommended that you own your own health policies. Just make sure you don't pay more than you should.

I personally made a blunder on my hospitalisation and surgery insurance plan. Even though I was covered full under company’s medical plan, I still bought my own medical plan that was linked to investment-linked insurance product a few years back. I ended up paying quite a large sum, close to RM5,000 a year, annually. I failed to review my own hospitalisation and surgery plan while I was still working at corporate world. 

As I track my expenses more closely since early retirement, I realised that I've made a huge mistake by not buying a cheaper, standalone medical plan. Additionally, this medical plan has increased its premium for the third time over the last 7 years. 

How can I afford it as I grow older if it continues to increase its premiums? After much thoughts, I decided to cancel the plan in early 2020. I should consider getting myself a standalone medical card instead without riding on any investment-linked products. 

Unfortunately, at my current age, any medical plan will still cost me more than it would if I were to purchase it many years back. But no matter how, any standalone medical plan is still cheaper than a medical plan bundled with investment-linked product. Therefore, please treat health and investment-linked insurance plans separately. Don't listen to what the insurance agents tell you. They just want to make money out of you. Learn from my mistake. Please don't make the same mistake as me.

3.     Don't overspend on hygiene products or health supplements

I used to buy many health supplements (multi-vitamins, vitamin C, B-complex, zinc) and hygiene products (toner, cleanser, scrub, face mask, day lotion, night cream) for their specific benefits. But now I just stick to the basics. 

Even for the basics, I stick to over-the-counter hygiene products and health supplements you can easily find in neighbourhood pharmacies. I don’t believe in paying the extra for some fancy products sold at their specific counters in departmental stores. 

As long as I wash my face, take good shower, have enough sleep, eat healthily, have less stress and exercise regularly, I believe this healthy lifestyle is better than any hygiene products or health supplements.

By adapting this belief and maintaining this lifestyle, I manage to save up to RM1,000 a year. It’s not a small sum after all. 

Hence, you should take stock of your own hygiene products and health supplements to check if you have overspent all these years. Don’t let fear of losing your health grip you until you swallow 10 tablets a day. Stick to the basics and live a healthy lifestyle. No health supplements can really help you if you eat unhealthily anyway. 

4.     Cancel fitness club memberships you don't use

Joining a fitness centre, sports club, or golf club is an excellent investment for your great health as long as you use the facilities. Unfortunately, many sports enthusiasts sign up for club memberships but hardly use the facilities. Some even sign up for full access to all locations but they always end up hitting the gym either near their workplace or home only. All other club outlets are underutilised. 

If you fall into the category of going to fitness centre only on weekends or 1-2 times a week, I suggest that you cancel your memberships to increase your savings. Buy some weights and find a workout video online to work out at home. Better still, you can go for outdoor sports activities (running, hiking) which are free. 

If you have multiple-location access but always go to the same location for your gym workouts, it's time to reduce your membership fees by changing your fitness club membership package to one-club access only. 

With the current fitness club monthly membership fees around RM150 (or RM1,800 a year), I pay only RM88 a year for my fitness club’s lifetime membership. This is because I paid an equivalent to three-year membership fee upfront to be a lifetime member more than 15 years ago. I'm very glad that the fitness centre I join is still operating today, gaining from strength to strength. I manage to save at least RM1,712 yearly on gym membership.

I encourage you to exercise. If you sign up a club membership, please make full use of the facilities. Otherwise, you will be wasting your money.

5.     Quit smoking

Tobacco smoking is extremely harmful to your body. It not only burns your lungs and health, it burns a big hole in your pocket.

In fact, when 600 ingredients in cigarettes burn, they generate 7,000 chemicals. Most of them are poisonous and 69 of them are linked to cancer. 

If a pack of cigarettes costs RM7.00 and you smoke one pack a week, you will be RM364.00 further away from your money saving goals each year. 

You may end up spending even more for treating any potential health-related issues related to smoking.

Stop smoking today - for your better health and fitter personal finance.

6.     Quit drinking

Drinking is not only bad for your health, it is also costly. If you go to a bar once a week to drink, you may end up RM100 poorer. That is RM400 a month or RM4,800 a year. Even if you choose to drink at home or at a local kopitiam, you will still be at least RM1,200 poorer a year. 

I personally don't drink. My body can only tolerate a beer with citrus and low alcohol content. If I drink wine, I will somehow cough. Therefore, drinking is out of my limit. 

If you do drink, just stick to wine instead of beer or hard liquor. Some studies show that limited wine drinking is good for your health. Just monitor your consumption according to your age. 

7.     Eat less sweet

For health reasons, you should cut down sweet things from your daily diet. It means cutting down on cakes from bakeries and cafes, ice cream from Family Mart and dessert shops, fruit juices from juice kiosks, and carbonated drinks whenever you eat. 

I know this is easy for those who don't have sweet tooth. However, it doesn't mean it's impossible for those who have sweet tooth. If you can eat less sweet, you not only save a lot of money from paying expensive price for pure sugar, you are gaining your health from diabetic or sugar-related illnesses. 

 

H. How to save money: beauty

Looking good isn’t self-importance. It’s self-respect. It also builds self-confidence and makes you feel better. It captures the eyes of others. If you don’t look the part, no one will want to give you money or time. 

1.      DIY on hair cut / hair colouring

Hair cut is essential. We need to cut and / or colour our hair regularly. We have all experienced how horrible we looked with messy long hair during the movement control order period. All hair salons and barber shops were ordered to close. Some resorted to cutting their own hair at home.

In order to save money on grooming, the key is to find the best value service to make you look beautiful and handsome! You don't want to save money and end up with an ugly mushroom or coconut hairstyle. Meanwhile, you also don't want to overpay for the same trendy hair style that you can get cheaper elsewhere.

It’s very challenging to DIY a stylish haircut at home. But it’s definitely possible to DIY your hair colouring at home. The more you DIY at home, the more you save.

A female friend with beautiful hair spends RM400 for haircut, hair dye, and hair treatment every 2 months. Due to covid-19 pandemic, she had no choice but to buy online a RM90 hair dye product and dye her own hair at home. For a RM90 hair dye product, she can use it twice. She is so thrilled and happy with the home treatment result that she said in future she will consider dying her own hair at home.

I used to have my RM11 short hair cut at barber shop every month many years. Lately, for hygienic and styling reason, I have my hair cut at hair salon for RM40, the cheapest yet the best in my area. Since I keep my hair slightly longer to cover my grey hair, I visit hair salon less frequent.  When I realised that I would not look like Richard Gere in his grey hair, I have been using RM35 hair-dye product bought from pharmacy to colour my grey hair at home since 10 years ago. For each hair-dye bottle, I can use for three times since my hair is relatively short. Imagine if I were to have my hair cut and hair colouring at hair salon, I would end up paying RM98 for each visit.

As for my dad, my mom used to cut his hair at home with an electrical hair clipper. But since my mom passed away in December 2015, I brought my dad to barber shop instead, paying RM11 per hair cut every month. But this year in 2020, with the high risks for the elderly to be exposed to covid-19 at barber shops, I bought a hair clipper online and now I cut my dad's hair at home. No more barber shop! I’m his barber at home now. 

 

2.     Pamper yourself more at home

Do you know of friends, colleagues or family members who sign up for facial treatment package costing RM2,000 or more? How about those who sign up for body massage package for RM1,500? I know a few of them. 

But seriously, is it necessary to pay thousands of Malaysian Ringgit for facial treatment, body treatment to pamper yourself? You pay for others to pamper you. But if you are serious about saving money for your financial independence, you can consider doing it yourself at home with similar awesome results.

I'm not a beauty expert. But to start off with, I believe facial treatment can be easily done at home. You can buy the bottled face scrub or clay from any pharmacies nearby to apply on your face after evening shower and wash off before you sleep to remove excess dirt and oil. You can then put Korean, Taiwan, or Japan face masks over your face and make your face glow and moist while watching TV in the evening. You can apply night cream or anti-ageing cream before you sleep. You can put on sun protection lotion during day time. 

As long as you have a good self-grooming habit and regime (which you can easily learn from YouTube or reading), you will have glowing skin. Of course, your diet, stress and exercise play a major factor in your skin condition too. 

I personally don't go for any facial treatment. The only occasion I pamper myself to a nice facial treatment is when I’m on my last day of holidays in Thailand or Bali after sunburn from the beach. 

I basically take care of my face at home. Recently, our domestic helper grows aloe vera plants in the backyard. In addition to the beauty products and face masks I purchased from pharmacy, I also apply the natural aloe vera gel extracted from the plant in our backyard. It's natural and free.

As for body massage, it does help to relieve a lot of body tightness and tension, especially if you are overly stressed from work or family situation. It's good to loosen up your body muscle indeed. However, you should only go for body massage only if your body is physically sore or tired. 

But I know of many who treat body massage as a "beauty regime" or "beauty routine", not so much for relieving body from soreness but more to pamper themselves. 

There is nothing wrong with that. But if you really want to save money for your financial freedom and early retirement, you should limit your "wants". 

I believe in exercising and not body massage to relieve my work stress. A good daily morning run, a good gym workout, a slow long distance 21 km run on Sunday mornings are all I need to release my stress and keep me sane, calm and refreshed. If I have back soreness or muscle soreness, I then attend Pilate group classes for the stretching and core strengthening exercises. Swimming is another love that I have to help me stretch out my body for a more relaxed muscle. 

Having said that, I still pamper myself to foot massage (instead of body massage) during my holidays to Thailand, Cambodia and Thailand. Such services are much cheaper there. But I usually only have foot massage or facial treatment (either one) only during my last day of each trip. 

Ultimately, you can try my approach striking a balance between saving money and pampering yourself. While in Malaysia, pamper yourself at home. During your last days of your holidays, pay someone to pamper you.

3.     Slimming through self-discipline and self-control

Weight-loss is a tricky subject. Just like instant noodles or fast-food, most people want instant, fast results. Some of them lack proper nutrition knowledge. They also lack self-discipline on food choices and calorie intake amount. 

They decide to pay professionals RM2,000 to RM10,000 on weight-loss / slimming programs or products to help them lose weight, either doing the body wrap, or some sort of meal replacement plans with low carbohydrates, etc.

Some years back, I was told about two mutual friends who didn't know that they coincidentally signed up for the same weight-loss program from the same beauty centre separately. While both of them were receiving weight-loss treatment with the full-body plastic wrap in separate treatment rooms, they could overhear the voices of each other. Only then they realised that they both were there for the same body slimming treatment. Fast forward to today, they both have gained back the weight they paid thousands of Malaysian Ringgit to get rid of years back. 

The bottom line is: all these slimming pills, weight-loss products and programs may let you see instant results (most probably due to loss of water retention in your body instead of body fat) in a short term, they are not long-lasting. Just like a pack of instant noodle – you can cook and eat it fast but it’s not healthy for long term.

But do you know that you can slim down, lose weight naturally without spending a single cent on any hyped-up slimming products or weight-loss programs? You don't have to pay some professionals to help you. You will be wasting your hard-earned money. 

Many researches and studies have shown that a person can change his or her body composition through a 80-percent nutrition and 20-percent fitness rule. Simply put, 80/20 nutrition-fitness rule means that a person’s body weight is 80% depending on what you eat (nutrition / calorie input), and 20% depending on your exercise (calorie output). 

By controlling what you eat and exercising moderately, you can lose weight the natural way. You won’t see the result overnight. But your result will definitely come and it will be long lasting. It becomes a habit for you. It becomes a lifestyle for you. Isn’t it better? What it requires of you is your self-discipline and self-control. If you find it hard to control what you eat and force yourself to exercise, think of your long-term health. You can also relate this to your financial fitness which requires your self-discipline, determination and self-control in your spending and saving. Similarly, you can apply the same self-discipline, determination and self-control habits to this weight-loss area as well. 

 

I. How to save money: education

Education is the best investment you can ever have for your own self or for your children. Education helps you to have a good job, a good career, a good prospect, a good future with unlimited opportunities and potential income. Education lifts many poor families out of poverty. Hence, don't save any penny on education. Instead, you should save money in other areas of your life so that you have enough to pay for the escalating costs of today’s education for your children.

Importance of education sees many parents sending their kids to international schools, private tuition centres, music courses, drawing classes, etc. Many parents put high hopes on their children. Receiving the best education is the best avenue to progress in today's ever competitive, knowledge-filled society. 

My parents borrowed money from loan sharks to send me to the United States of America to further my studies. To them, nothing beats investing in my education despite some objections from relatives and friends. 

Despite the escalating costs of education today, there are still ways to save money. 

1.      Open an education account for your children

First of all, open an education account for your kids after they were born and start saving money for their education regularly. 

Take advantage of benefits of compounding interest. Over the course of 17-19 years, your education money will grow to quite a handsome amount by the time they reach their university level. 

2.     Not all public schools or universities are bad, and not all international / private schools or universities are good

The misconception of public secondary schools and universities are not good is a myth! 

I didn't attend international schools for my primary and secondary education. I attended public schools (Chung Hwa Primary School in Langkawi and Keat Hwa Secondary School in Alor Setar, Kedah. 

Even for my university education, I attended the best public university (University of California at Berkeley) in America, which happens to be one of the top 20 best public / private universities in the world as well. I think I turned out not too bad being educated in public schools and university.

No doubt it’s true that generally speaking international or private schools and universities are better. But there are also some rich kids whose parents simply splash money on their education. There are even cases whereby some students at such prestigious private institutions "buy" their grades and paper qualifications. 

Regardless of private or public institution, it all boils down to the students. If the student has a good learning attitude, a public school or college or university which has cheaper tuition fees is as good as any other private, expensive private schools. Hence, parents should focus on cultivating a good learning attitude in their children from very young age. I won’t be surprised to see some intelligent students from public universities outshine other students from private colleges.

3.     Apply for scholarships or financial aids

There are many types of scholarships or financial aids available based on either your educational qualification or financial background. Do explore such offers out there. Some may come with bonds after graduation but they are all worth it. 

I received financial aids and partial scholarships during my university days. The amount was not substantial but it still helped to cover a small portion of my tuition fees in America. 

My sister wanted to send both of her children to public universities. Unfortunately their grades were good enough to qualify them for public universities. Hence, my sister sent her 2 children to local private colleges financially supported by her hard-earned money and PTPN loans.

The reason for my sister to receive PTPN loans for both of her children is to educate her children on importance of money. She wants to make sure my niece and nephew pay the PTPN loans back after they graduate and find good jobs. In true fact, my loving sister has a hidden agenda. Once her 2 children pay back the PTPN loans using their own money earned from their salaries, my sister will credit the same PTPN loan amount back to their bank account with her own money. She basically wants to use PTPN loan to educate the children on the meaning of saving once they start working. She means well. I respect her for the way she is educating my niece and nephew.

But please don't be like many PTPN loan defaulters. They are not the good examples at all. They are taking advantage of the situation by not paying back the PTPN loans. Their bad behaviour has caused many others not being able to receive PTPN loans. It shows that they are irresponsible. If I were to run my own business, I will not hire these PTPN loan defaulters into my organisation. Parents should be like my sister, teaching their children on importance of money and saving, ensuring their children pay back the PTPN loans. 

4.     Tuition classes are only bonus, but not mandatory

I believe that private classes like tuition can help students excel in their respective subjects. However, I don’t believe that all subjects need to be tutored. Just focus on the weak subjects. Otherwise, it's will not only be too taxing on the kids but also not going to be very beneficial. Can you imagine how heavy the study load is for the students? They need time to rest, play and grow too. 

There are many testimonies of students scoring excellent examination results without attending any private tuition. It's a living proof to the fact that private tuition is only helpful if you are good student to begin with. And if you are a good student, you would have learned well in the class without having to attend private tuition classes.

5.     Self-learn throughout your life

After university graduation, you still need to learn continuously to improve yourself, to develop yourself during your career journey. Once you stop learning, you stop progressing. 

With today’s advanced technology, self-learning has become more accessible, convenient, cheaper and easier. There are many free resources available online which you can learn for free. 

You can attend online courses in nutrition, psychology, data science, business, personal development, social sciences, language learning, arts and humanities taught by top university professors at Coursera.org for free or at a fraction of cost. Udemy.com has more than 100,000 line courses in variety of topics for you to choose from. You can watch YouTube videos to learn the experts on how to save money, how to invest, how to change your bicycle tyre, how to cut your own hair, etc. You can follow some blog posts by industry experts to learn about specific topics of your interests. 

As you can see, as long as you know where to search and how to find them, information is everywhere. You can self-learn anytime of the day you want, as and when you want as long as you have internet access. 

You can also learn from reading good books and magazines. Many self-development books help millions of people worldwide grow to become better. Many cooking books help mothers prepare delicious home-cooked food for their families. 

Some prefer to learn through seminars with international speakers on the stage sharing their powerful advice and personal experiences. They get motivated and inspired after they attend such seminars and their lives have been changed thereafter. 

However, attending seminar costs you a lot of money. I know of some who pay thousands of Malaysian Ringgit to attend several seminars a year without fail. 

Seminars do provide that competitive advantage for the face-to-face knowledge sharing and learning. It's indeed a very good platform to develop yourself. But with all the podcasts, e-learnings, YouTube channels readily available for you to self-learn, I reckon that you don’t need to attend so many seminars in a year. There are many seminars and events out there that are out to get your money. Be wise, and select the seminars wisely. Attend only selected seminars  that you deem important and critical to your learning. For the rest of the learning, you can self-learn with readily available resources throughout your life.

 

J. How to save money: home

A house is made of brick and mortar, but home is made by the people who live there. There is no place like home. Home is where we spend most of our time in. A home is where family gathers, love resides, memories are created, and laughter never ends.

1.      House/condo/apartment size does matter

Many people love to live in big landed houses with many rooms and a lot of space in a gated community, especially if you have a big family. Besides the comfort of living in a spacious home, it's also a symbol of status, success, power, and authority. The hind side of this is that the bigger the house, the harder you can save money. 

You will spend quite a lot on house renovation and interior design, especially when you first move in. A neighbour spent RM180,000 engaging an interior designer and contractor to renovate his single-storey home when his family first moved in. Imagine if it's a double-storey home, it would have cost almost double that amount. 

You still can definitely save money on renovation if you do it yourself (DIY) without engaging the services of interior designer. You can read interior design magazines, visit home expositions and show units of new properties to get an idea of how best you want to design your own home. 

For your house paint, there is a mobile app by an established painting company that can give you a digital feel of how your house looks like with different colour before your actual painting. Once you decide on the design, colour, materials etc, you can source the materials (tiles, etc) yourself so that you can buy them cheap without the mark ups from the contractor. 

You then look for house contractor to do the renovation work for you. You pay only for their labour. 

But having said that, a double-storey house renovation still costs more than a single-storey house renovation. And definitely a big condo unit costs more on renovation compared to a smaller unit. 

Even after all the house renovation, there is still a lot of empty space at your big home. As the years grow, you tend to start buying more and more things for your home. The reason is simple. It looks too empty. So you give yourself reasons to fill up those empty spaces. You end up buying expensive furniture, massage chair, bigger cabinets to fill up the spaces. You are likely to buy more art paintings to hang on the empty walls too. If you have a huge walk-in wardrobe in your master's bedroom, surely you will buy more clothes, shoes, jackets, suits, gowns, shoes, etc to fill up the wardrobe.

Do bear in mind that the bigger the house, the more things you have and the harder for you to maintain. The bigger the space, the more chargeable hours the part-time maids will clock. You end up paying more for maid services to clean up your home weekly. 

How about monthly maintenance fee and sinking fund charged by the property management office ? The bigger your house / condominium unit is, the higher your monthly maintenance fee will be. 

One of my ex-bosses pays RM1,100 monthly maintenance fee for his double-storey house with a swimming pool and other facilities within the gated community at Desa Park City. A friend who stays in another part of Desa Park City, also a double-storey house but without swimming pool and other facilities, pays RM335 for his maintenance fee. 

Most condominiums come with full facilities, hence with higher maintenance fees. A friend pays RM570 monthly maintenance fee for his 1,200 square-feet condo unit in Bukit Jalil and another friend pays RM800 a month for his unit in Desa Park City.

This monthly maintenance fee is not going to get any cheaper. And it's very difficult to reduce this maintenance fee as long as you stay there. It will become a big headache for you when you reach your golden years. The amount you pay for the maintenance fee could probably buy you a few holiday trips to a nice beach resort in Phuket, Thailand or Bali, Indonesia. 

Paying interest on top of the principal amount you borrowed from the bank is no joke. Over the course of 20-30 years of home loan period, you will pay a huge sum for the housing loan interest alone. Look out for bank institutions with lower interest rates. Refinance your mortgage if necessary to save yourself thousands of Malaysian Ringgit. 

Therefore, go with a smaller house or condo unit. You pay less for the real estate. Your housing loan interest is also less due to its lower property value. You spend less on renovation. You buy less things for the house. You pay less on monthly maintenance fee. It's going to be a huge saving!

If you want, you can choose to rent out unused space at your home. You can rent rooms to students, working adults if you have spare rooms. Of course, you will then lose your privacy. It's a give and take situation.

2.     Choose location with lower cost of living

Roy Thien, one of my favourite authors from Taiwan, used to stay in New Taipei City with a population of 4 million. After his early retirement at age 45, he decided to move to Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan with a population of 2.77 million. 

Kaohsiung has much lower cost of living compared to Taipei. The house is much cheaper in Kaohsiung with fresher air. Living expenses are a fraction of what he would have spent in Taipei. He can stretch his retirement money by moving from Taipei to Kaohsiung. 

A friend was telling me a few months ago how cheap the food is in Gopeng, Perak. He had mixed rice for RM4 in Gopeng. The same mixed rice would have cost around RM7 in Kuala Lumpur. Staying in Kedah or Kelantan definitely costs much less compared to staying in Klang Valley, Penang or Johor Bahru. 

Even within Klang Valley itself, different locations have slightly different standard of living. Where I currently stay, Sri Petaling, the food around this neighbourhood is still slightly cheaper compared to Petaling Jaya area near One Utama. There are no major shopping malls within vicinity. The closest major shopping malls are Mid Valley and The Gardens. Staying near NSK also means I can save on groceries. On the other hand, Petaling Jaya is surrounded by so many major shopping malls, namely One Utama, The Curve, Ikano Shopping Centre, Starling Mall, 3 Damansara, Paradigm Mall, and a few others. It's very challenging not to be tempted to go to the shopping malls often if you stay near the vicinity of shopping malls. 

In short, staying in a location with lower cost of living may come with some inconveniences but you definitely can spend less (thus save more). 

3.     Monitor electricity bill

Always monitor your electricity bills and find ways to use less electricity. 

For instance, you don't necessarily need to switch on your air-conditioner if you don't have to. We live in tropical country. A fan and a good ventilated place will do. During our parents' days, there was no such thing as air-conditioner anyway. If you need to on the aircon to sleep at night, you can increase the temperature and put it on energy saving mode. My parents used to sleep with air conditioner on. But since cold air is bad for old folks, especially for those with arthritis, my dad has been advised by his doctor to sleep with just fan. If the weather is too hot, I would then switch on the aircon for a couple of hours. I will then switch it off and on the fan for the rest of the nights for him.

Switch to energy efficient LED light bulbs for all your light bulbs at home. 

Invest in quality home appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, stove, oven, washing machine, etc) with energy saving feature that will last. This saves you money in long term. Don't always for cheap appliances. You may end up paying more. 

As for television viewing, limit the hours you watch and always turn off the television after you watch them. Don’t fall asleep on your couch with your television switched on whole night. 

When the sun is about to set, most people just love to turn on lights immediately. Try to optimise on the natural sunlight from outside first before you switch on your lights. And again, remember to switch them off after each use.

4.     Reduce water consumption

Find ways to use less water to save on water bill. Instead of washing dishes separately, you can wash them together. When you take shower, you can turn on smaller volume of running water instead of full volume. When you water your plants in the garden or balcony, you can use rain water you have kept in the pale from the night before. When you wash your car, off the hose when it's not in use. 

By helping to save water, you also help to conserve the environment. You are doing your little part contributing to the society while saving money on your water bill.

5.     Be like Mr MacGyver (Mr. DIY)

I'm not sure how many of you have watched good old American TV series Mr MacGyver in your life time? It is one of my most favourite shows when I was studying in California, USA. MacGyver has a Swiss knife with him all the time. He can literally fix everything. 

Be like Mr MacGyver or Mr DIY. Try to fix things yourself. Be your own handy-man at home. You can save thousands if you paint your own walls, put together your own furniture from IKEA, learn how to fix simple problems around the home like changing lightbulb, fixing waterpipe, changing door knob, etc. 

If you don’t how to fix something at home,  look up YouTube videos. In fact, I changed door knobs at my home a couple of times by watching YouTube. I also fixed the gas stove ignitor by watching YouTube. Therefore, be Mr / Ms MacGyver (DIY) at home. You learn something new while saving money.

6.     Start a garden

Many people love to put tiles at their home's front porch. No doubt this makes the place clean and easier to maintain, but it also makes the home hotter due to sun reflection from the tiles. 

If you can start a garden by planting some flowers and trees, it will help to keep your home cooler. It also means you don't need to use air conditioner too often – a huge saving on energy use. 

For those with green fingers, you can plant some vegetables or fruit trees in your garden too. We used to have 2 mango trees in front of our house. For many years, we never had to buy mangos at all. Unfortunately, both mango trees died in recent years. But now our domestic helper plants eggplant, green chilli, kangkong, spring onion, lady fingers, potatoes, and yam at our backyard. We get to enjoy fresh vegetables plucked from our backyard. It helps to save money during weekly grocery shopping.  It also keeps the house cooler.

 

K. How to save money: work

An ex-colleague and a good friend, Koh, who has been in sales almost all of his life, is a top sales performer holding several company sales records at Jobstreet.com. He is now a top manager and leader in the company. 

1.      Submit your claims on time

He used to collect all his parking and toll tickets for as long as 6 months without submitting to the company for claims. Every time I reminded him to fill in the e-form in the intranet for approval and submission, he kept telling me that he was busy and he had no time to do the paperwork. I was almost screaming my lung out to him, "What? Koh! You still haven't submitted your parking and toll claims yet? It's your own money! You must be earning a big fat sales commissions that these little expenses become insignificant to you." It was a joke as I was trying my best to get him to submit his claims. I didn’t want him to fork out his own money from his pocket to pay for those parking and toll fees. 

If you can, make it a habit to record your expenses immediately and submit them on monthly basis. You could have forgotten where you incur all those expenses if you don't record them down immediately. Receipts kept for 6 months could have made the printed reading on the receipts hard to read too due to fading colour. 

It's the same for your monthly phone expenses, especially if you are entitled to claim. Submit your claims soonest.

2.     Enjoy all the company’s fringe benefits 

Besides that, make sure you learn about all of the compensation and benefit plans your company offers. You may be entitled to a fixed amount monthly or yearly for gym memberships, book purchases, internet usage, dental, medical, phone subsidy, etc. These are the benefits provided by the company for all employees. Company is helping you to save. Make sure you make full use of the company benefits you are entitled to.

Packing food from home to office, parking at cheaper parking facilities (if not provided by the company), consuming coffee and milo from the office pantry (instead of buying at Starbucks) are other effective ways I have covered earlier that can help you save money at work.

 

L. How to Save Money: Banking, Credit, and Debt

 

Like it or not, banking, credit and debt are an integral part of our life and society as we move from one phase to another phase in life. Hence, it’s good to put some effort to learn how to save money from these financial / banking institutions.

1.     Move your bank accounts to enjoy free banking, better perks and earn more interests

Some banks charge a monthly fee for your checking or savings account. If you are paying for bank services, move to bank proving you free banking.

Interest rates also vary from bank to bank. For new customers, some banks even go the extra mile to offer very attractive interest rates. You would benefit from making an effort to explore some of the newest banking offers out there. Make the switch to earn more interest from your hard-earned money.

2.     Pay online and stop issuing cheques

Whenever you make any payment for your bills, avoid paying with cheques. There is usually a bank charge to each of your cheque issuance. Often than not, the bank charge for cheque issuance can be 5-6x higher than paying online. Bank also charges you for the cheque book.

To save money, make it a habit to pay your bills online only. Choose Interbank Giro (IBG) for your online transaction instead of Instant Interbank Funds Transfer (IBFT) unless your bank offer same transfer fees. Say no to cheques!

3.     Avoid paying ATM fees

It may be convenient to use any ATMs near you for convenience. But sometimes it's worth planning ahead where you want to withdraw your money. Unless the bank rule has changed, bank usually charges ATM fee for each ATM transaction if the ATM is not from your bank or credit union. Therefore, use only the ATMs of your bank or credit union to avoid paying ATM fees. 

4.     Choose the most practical credit card

In order to attract new customers, nowadays banks offer very attractive credit cards. Some of the credit card benefits include travel perks, cash back, petrol rebate, dining discounts, free movie tickets, generous reward points, etc. New customers also receive a sign-up bonus for a credit card in the form of free cabin bag, free cash, lifetime free annual fees. Recently, a friend received RM500 cash loaded onto his Touch ‘n Go eWallet by signing  up for a new credit card.

It can be confusing as to which credit card to choose. I recommend you to go for the most practical credit card for your own unique situation. If you travel extensively, a credit card with air miles and travel perks is awesome.

I have used several credit cards over the years. Often than not, I ended up redeeming electronic items that I don't need, or chasing after that illusive air miles points for a trip to Hawaii. I personally find credit card with cash rebate for every dollar spent is the most practical credit card for my all-around needs nowadays. It’s also money saving on items charged to the credit card.

5.     Hold only one credit card

Credit cards provide flexibility and convenience with attractive perks and benefits. Having credit card is good provided that you know how to control your credit card spending. 

There are people who live on credit, charging to several credit cards. They do not realise that they need to pay a hefty price for living on the money they haven’t earned. 

Instead of holding few credit cards, one is probably more than enough for your needs. 

Should you feel a bit out of hands in your spending control, freeze your credit card immediately. If situation doesn't improve, you may then cancel your credit cards.

I used to hold three (3) credit cards. But I have been using only one credit card for more than ten (10) years. It provides me the convenience and cash rebates. Should I need temporary credit limit increase, I can just call the bank to arrange. That's all I need of my credit card, really.

6.     Always ask for credit card annual fees to be waived

Some credit card companies give you a lifetime of  0% annual fees automatically without any condition. Some require you to have minimum number of transactions per year for your credit card annual fees to be waived. There are also a few credit card companies requiring you to make that phone call requesting for free waiver before the annual fee is due.

Whatever credit cards you hold, always ask for credit card annual fees to be waived. It's almost 100% certain that your requests will be fulfilled. Otherwise, change your credit card.

7.     Set all of your bills on auto-pay

Utilities, telco, and insurance companies may give special rates if you sign up for auto-pay. Auto-pay also ensures your payments are on time. Hence, your insurance policies don't lapse, and your housing or car loans don't encounter late payment charges. Without incurring any late charges saves you unnecessary money spending.

8.     Pay your credit card payment online

By utilising online bill pay on your credit card outstanding amount with your bank, you can consolidate most of your payments into one place - giving you the much needed close-eye on your balance. With better control of your spending, you are less likely to overdraft.

Online bill pay is also environmentally friendly with no paper printing of your monthly billing statements. You also save money on stamps and paper cheque.

Look through all your bills and try to pay online if you haven't done so. It's convenient, fast and efficient.

9.     Pay your credit card bills in full each month

There is a tendency to pay only the minimum monthly payment from your total outstanding amount. But bear in mind that banks charge you a rather high interest for any outstanding amount. Banks love you if you owe them.

If you can, pay your credit card bills in full each month. No carrying forward of outstanding payment from month to month! It will cultivate a bad habit in you if you always defer payments. You end up not being able to save money and paying more with the high interest.

If you can't pay all of them, pay off the credit cards with the highest interest first.

10.  Negotiate rates with your credit card company

After all your effort to pay your bills and yet you are still in debt, call your credit card companies to negotiate your rates.

Tell them if they don't lower your rates, you are considering a balance transfer to a low interest card. Most banks will do all they can to keep you to have debt with them so that they can earn through the interest charge.

You may end up serving lower rates with same credit card companies after a successful negotiation.

11.   Have a credit card debt reduction goal

First of all, you should not have credit card debt at first place. It is your overly spending habit that results in the credit card debt. The more you spend, the less you save. Learn to control your spending habit so that your debt doesn't snowball into an uncontrollable avalanche.

If your banks provide fee debt counselling, go and listen to their suggestions. Meanwhile, start with a goal of reducing your credit card debt by just 10% of the outstanding amount each month. Pay more if you can. The more and earlier you pay off your debt, the more money you save from the interest charges. Please have a visual reminder of your debt with an objective to reduce it to zero debt in a specific timeline. Your goal is to be debt free as soon as possible.

SECTION 3

 

SAVINGS THROUGH FRUGAL LIVING 

 

“Living a frugal lifestyle gives you the opportunity to invest more money towards your future.”    -- John Rampton

F I L L

Financial Independence, Live Life 

 

achieving financial independence from 9-to-5 job before 50

Book manuscript written in 2020 & blog articles published in 2021 by Vincent Khor

Photo by Gabby K from Pexels