A close friend in his late thirties gave up all his credit cards when he found himself in debt. These days, he says cash is king.
On Sept 4, a local daily reported that 47% of youths had a high credit card debt. Although no figures were mentioned, it was reported that throughout 2017 alone, more than 3,400 Malaysians between the ages of 20 and 30 sought counselling and help from the Debt Management and Counselling Agency. (AKPK)
The statement was made by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Assistant Governor Nazrul Hisyam Mohd Noh, who also challenged local youth to manage their finances better.
He said, “I challenge all of you to break the myth that the young generation are not financially savvy and do not contribute to these statistics.”
By the way, personal loans come at a “later stage” after credit card debt as loans are usually taken to pay off debts from credit cards.
Debts aside, how are we in terms of protecting whatever wealth we have today?
LIAM President Anusha Thavarajah said 56% of Malaysians were currently insured, with the figure to reach 75% by 2020.
Anusha also said a few insurance companies had created the “Perlindungan Tenang” scheme, targeting the B40 group, for as low as RM3.80 per month.
Her worry was real when she said, “Our main obstacle is lack of awareness by the people on insurance. We hope with this competition, more awareness can be created especially among youths.”
Personal finance consists of four components – earnings; savings; investing; and preserving. We have no choice but to do all four.
Earn too little and there’s no way we can save enough for investing. We could suddenly incur high debts if we do not have insurance coverage because a medical card may be as cheap as RM100 or lower per month but if we do not have such coverage and require minor surgery, that’s easily RM10,000 gone.
One kidney stone removal operation for example would already cost around this figure and this is a common one for Malaysians.
Dear readers, we are no longer living in the past when 20 sen was once enough for two meals. Poverty happens everywhere in the world and we have to keep up with how the world is progressing.
Someone posted on Facebook on Sept 5 that his biggest “financial” gain was getting married to a good wife, who together with him, was bringing up their family.
If you really do love your family, then support and provide coverage for them financially.
This article first appeared in kopiandproperty.com
Charles Tan blogs at property investment site kopiandproperty. He dislikes property speculators and disagrees that renting is better than buying. He thinks it’s either property or poverty. He is presently the CEO of an auction house auctioning assets beyond just properties.