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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

8 Biggest Mistakes Malaysians Do and Lose Money

Malaysia Meetup 2010/05
Malaysia Meetup 2010/05 (Photo credit: Danny Choo)
1. Change mobile phones every month.

Yes, this is the most common. Do you know that these gadgets can last long? I used my Nokia 3315 that I bought at the price of RM300 for 4 years+. Malaysians love to change their mobile phones. Just because the latest phone is the hippiest thing around town does not give you the reason to get one. One way to curb this painfully money wasting habit is by buying a phone that does everything you need. Buy that only one phone and use it till it is unusable anymore. Then you have your go to buy a new one.

2. Dine out.

Malaysia has lots of food to offer. That is undeniable. From the mamaks/pasar malam/stalls by the roadside to all those restaurants scattered everywhere you can happily eat everything when you have money, thus there lies the problem. You just can't stop yourselves. What to do?
I can suggest having meals before you go out (breakfast/lunch/dinner) so that you wouldn't have any reason to stop by at all those places. Always have a bottle of drinking water in your car so that you would not stop to buy water or anything outside. If you're living by yourselves and been dining out all this while, try cooking for yourselves. Make it as a hobby first, something that you do twice a week. Once you get better, maybe you could even cook everyday and wouldn't be spending much eating out.
Dining out once a while in a month is okay, but if everyday, well there are lots of money can be saved there.

3. Phone bills and prepaids.

I've saved around RM200 for not using my mobile phone for the last 2 months. Amazing right? You can do it too. Think again, why do you really need mobile phones for when you are already paying for the freakin' internet already? Since I'm spending most of my time in front of the computer, I don't really need my mobile phone because everybody that I need to contact has an internet connection. Heck, I even lost my sim card already.
Prepaid vs postpaid? If you really want to save and use less, then go for prepaid. Then try to top up the smallest amount possible and try to utilize it the longest period of time. There are others out the who doesn't really care spending money on their phone bills, so let them.

4. Mp3 players.

I don't get it why some people who already have a mobile phone that can play songs still buy an Mp3 player. What's your point? Buy something you need, not something you already have.

5. Drive around too much.

Do you know that it takes a lot of petrol to get the car engine started? Multiply it by how many short distance places you go back and fourth and surely you'll get less total mileage per litre than what you should've get. Try walking. I know, most of you are already too spoiled to walk to the nearby grocery.

6. Malaysians smoke a lot!

Hah! Let's see in Malaysia 1 pack of 20 is around RM10. Let's say that could last a week. Means a month is 4 packs and a year is 48 packs, equivalent to RM 480. To all hot girls out there, a guy who smokes a lot is a deal-breaker.
FYI, I don't.

7. Malaysians love to go to shopping malls.

It is a culture here in Malaysia to go to the mall, to hangout, watch movies etc. They go to the mall at least once a week for most people, and probably everyday for those who live nearby shopping malls. Almost everything is there and everything costs money, right from the first step out of your house.
Solution? Simple. Stay at home, watch TV. Remember you have already paid cable subscriptions (Astro) and the awfully expansive broadband internet. Use it. Download movies rather than watching them at the cinema. Then in the evening, go out jogging around the park or your housing area. By doing all these, you have saved money from paying for petrol, toll charges (where applies), parking charges, eating out, drinks, snacks, etc. The lesser you go out, the more money you will save.

8. Malaysians love to shop.

The retail industry knew this all along. That's why they organize super-jumbo-mega sales at least twice a year so to encourage Malaysians to spend their money. This is the time when people will buy most of the things that they never need. At this period, I'm sure most people do at least 3 mistakes that I have mentioned in this article.

One advice, it is okay to shop but only shop for what you need.
Author is a Malaysian student studying in Russia. Article is originally posted at blog.ariff.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ariff_Shah

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3341209
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