Finances

One of the much talked about topic of the day when our PM revising the 2016 Budget again just after 3 months from tabling it late last year, the EPF contribution of employees will be reduced by 3% to 8% (from current 11%). The new revised rate which will take effect for the period between March 2016 till December 2017 , was to put more money into your own pocket, and hoping that you will spend it to rejuvenate the half dead economy. By doing so, you're contributing to the economy and back to the coffer of government via GST. What do you think ? Sounds good, if you really want to loosen abit your cash flow. Anyway, it won't make a big difference either. For example, if you're earning RM3,000 salary monthly, the 3% extra pocket money was RM90 only. Spending it on a lavish dinner? "However, from tax planning perspective, we must not forget that our EPF contribution entitles you for up to Rm6,000 tax relief (EPF + Life Insurance premium). In other words, lesser EPF contri...

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Are you still rushing and queuing at banks just to change new notes to prepare "ang pow"? Relax... With the advancement of technology, Maybank this year rolled out a series of CNY special treats with innovative banking experiences. ATM also can change NEW notes ??? Yes. Hassle-free. You don't have to go to banks during banking hours purposely. Right now, you can just go these 88 locations nationwide to change for new RM10 and RM50 new notes. Please take note that the service is only available from 18 January till 9 February 2016. (it's still sad for me to change for smaller notes...) A new way of sending Ang Pow... e-Ang Pow !!! It's a blessing by giving ang pows to loved ones and prosperity will continue following you. Tired of folding ang pow physically, how about giving it online? How to do it? All you need is an Android device with Maybank2u Mobile App , and of course you must be a Maybank customer. Once the transact...

Want some investment which is very short term? And, can give you decent return? You should continue to read this newly launched fund by UOB Asset Management .  The fund seeks to provide investors with capital appreciation and achieve the Trigger Level in the short term by investing in a portfolio of equities and equity-related securities. What's TRIGGER EVENT ??? A trigger event occurs when the trigger level is achieved or exceeded for 3 consecutive business days at any point in time. In order to achieve the objective, the manager will primarily invest in equities and equity-related securities with SHORT TERM growth potential, which are listed or traded on Asia Pacific markets. The balance of the fund's that is not invested will be invested in fixed income securities, money market instruments and/or held in deposits. What kind of approach will be deploy for this fund ??? The manager employs fundamental and bottom-up analysis as an integral part of its equity investment...

It’s no fun being broke when the season to be jolly rolls around. So to avoid that from happening, let’s start organising Christmas plans earlier so your 2016 celebration can be a happy occasion ! Follow these easy ways below ! (Image Credit:  www.comparehero.my ) Start Early Set aside some money for Christmas now! Sure it may seem like Christmas is months away and but time flies and before you know it will be that time of the year again. If you don’t get started with sorting out your budget and finances , you won’t be feeling very merry when Christmas rolls around this year. So the first step to ensure you have more money for this year’s Christmas is to actually start setting aside some money and planning out your finances. Have A Game Plan Start making a list of who you want to get presents for and what you think they may like best. Then look out for deals or bargains on the items that you’re planning to buy throughout the year. This will also help you to avoid getting gifts on i...

Hope this is not too late. With all the impending increases of various prices, we all in Malaysia already feeling the pinch of rising cost of living. The good news is there is a fresh year coming, while the bad news is the situation was expected to persist until mid-2016, at least. Hope some of the financial tips listed in this article may help you a bit. 2015 is coming to an end this Thursday and before we enter into 2016, here are few of the items that you may don't want to missed out. Either it may help you to saved some money, or give you some bargain that you may have overlooked. BR1M 2016 The registration already open since 5th Dec 2015 and it will be closed on 31st Dec 2015. Although the amount is not significant enough to offset the rising cost of living, it does help a little for those who qualified. Click here for more info. MPSJ Compound Promotion For those living in this vicinity, Subang Jaya council has given yet another promotion for offenders to settle their compound...

Everyone are anxiously waiting for the outcome of Federal Reserve of US (FED) tonight. If the rate was really raised, it will be the turning point of the interest rate direction. Should FED make the decision to hike it, is it good or bad for the global economy? And most importantly, how is it going to impact Malaysia? It's not news anymore since we're talking about this FED rate hike issue one and half year ago. But, the fact is, it does really has a great impact to the world economy, and Malaysia cannot spare from it either. Generally, below is the 3 possible outcome of 16th Dec 2015 and the possible reactions of global markets: Unchanged Although this is unlikely this round, yet FED still has the chance to remained unchanged and keep it for the next round. While most of us already factored in the effect of raising interest rate, this outcome would make the whole global markets to react positively (although it maybe short lived until the next FED meeting). Merry Xmas and happ...

Since the first PRS fund was launched in year 2012, many Malaysian already invested in it because of the PRS Tax Relief and PRS Youth Incentive given by the government. After awhile, many of us started to compare different funds from different PRS providers. It's very normal. So, the information below may helps you. First, there are still 8 approved PRS providers in the market. But, number of funds already increased to a total of 50 PRS funds for us to choose from. CIMB-Principal has the most number of funds with 10, while RHB has the least at 3 only. Please refer to below picture. Can I transfer from one provider to another? Answer is YES . This is a stark different if comparing to normal unit trust investment, whereby investors cannot simply change company. In unit trust investment, an investors wish to change company must redeem and buy again. Coupled with higher sales charge imposed by unit trust investment, investors will be at the losing end. However, with the forming of ...