For someone who knows me in person and not through this blog, this is definitely like a BIG JOKE!!!
I'm never the thrifty type; a compulsive shopper with monstrous appetite and never say never to having fun.. I can't even let a 2 days holiday passed without me going somewhere! Okay.. RED ALERT!! I just realize that my saving is below my self-ordained buffer level! Mati la ni... (-_-")
At the end of my previous post I said I was going to make a strategic money saving plan.. Well, I went to check the balance of my accounts and they were deadly! I didn't notice that I've withdrawn too much of 'em moneyh! T_T So, I went to search for money saving tips and here are my conclusions \(^^)/
1. Have multiple saving accounts (Did that :))
Usually people would have like 2 or 3 saving accounts. One for the salary, the other one for monthly saving and the other one is for investment like ASB. But I found one married couple blog who endeavor to save $60k so that they can quit their jobs and travel around the world. They have their own way of naming the bank accounts which I think amusing :P
- Travel account - This is solely for the travel. Have to be extremely disciplined and withdrawal is not allowed at all! (Got one already!)
- Oh SH** account- I like this one. Got one already but have never thought of naming it like that haha. This account is for an Oh SH** moments where you suddenly need to use some money such as need to replace a punctured tire or something like that :P Withdrawal is STRICTLY for the Oh SH** moment.
But there's one thing about having multiple saving accounts. If you're the kind who can't pile up lots of money in any of them, then you'll get a very insignificant amount of dividend at the end of each year. For this, I would suggest the ASB loans like the one in Maybank. You might get the money in 5-20 years time, but this helps increase the dividend and it's a secured saving where you know in 5-20 yrs you have 10's of thousands in hand.
2. Be consistent! (Still trying..)
This is quite hard but I'm still trying. Some of my salary are automatically credited into one of my accounts and I've two secured savings where I've to pay a certain amount of money monthly. The later are untouchable until the next 5-20 years. These are the only way that I can be consistent. Bonuses usually goes to Oh SH** and travelling to make me reach my goal faster (^^) YOSH!
3. Make it hard to withdraw money! (Trying...)
No ATM cards for travelling account please... Only passbook. Definitely will think 2-3 times before you go for a withdraw.. Think about the hot scorching equatorial sun, no parking space, the long queue and the doomed saving!
I did something hurm which is quite out of the norm in Malaysia. In the west you see people literally freeze their credit cards in a block of ice. I don't do that because my credit card is my precioussss *Gollum hissing sound* but.. I slid my Oh SH** ATM inside the space in between the wall and the heaviest furniture in the house haha (^^) I know that's a little bit crazy but I tried to put it inside a locked drawer but at the end of the month I usually retrieve it to withdraw some money. So, this strategy should work because I don't feel like removing all the stuff to get the card in monthly basis. O ya, I also disabled any online transaction for that account muahahaha abis la ko Haziah!
4. Drive safely...
I just identified what could be the biggest investment of my youth~ ME CAR! When I badly punctured my tire in April, I'd to pay RM 200 for a new one and then I paid RM 35 for a pair of new wiper. Expensive! Plus the mortgage and I'm paying for my mom's car mortgage as well. Plus the annual insurance and road tax.. Yes this is the biggest investment so I want to drive safe so that I won't invest more than I should...
5. Cutting expanses on hobbies..
Well, I made new schedule for my hobbies. I'm reducing the number of times for climbing.. 3 times per week on weekdays so that I can save on fuel as well since I can go straight from work. 3 times per week for running to replace climbing because running in the park is free (^^) Twice a month dining out*eating is my hobby* Movie night during dining out, if possible.. Finish all the books before buying a new one.. Everything mentioned is effective starting from June \(^^)/
6. Save on coins
Some may think coins are insignificant. Actually it is!! I've a tall cylinder shape coin box that I daily put coins into. Well, banyak penipuan berlaku because I definitely will say no if the cashier ask, "Ada duit pecah?" even though I actually have around RM 3 worth of coins inside my purse. Why is it significant?? Lets see, every time my coin box is full, I usually get more than RM 150. And It is usually full every 3 months, so that's 4 times a year. So, roughly 4 x RM 150 = RM 600. See! the coins alone can give me RM 600 per year. It is significant \(^^)/ The most that I've saved in the coin box in 3 months was RM 210
7. Shop during sales and in outlets that offer you rewards!
Need not to tell this because every girl does this. I love branded shoes for their comfy but I won't buy them unless it is 70% off. Sometimes people say something like, "Kaya nya gg pakai kasot Sembonia!' Dengan bangga nya jawab "O, saya beli RM 50 jak masa sale!" (^^)v
And another thing about credit cards..some banks offer really good rewards! I once saved RM500 when I bought my preciousssss *another Gollum hissing* washing machine because I accumulated lots of points when I shopped in stores that offers reward points! I'm the kind who love to shop with credit cards when buying expensive stuffs because I don't feel safe having lots of cash in my hand heee tapi lepas tu cepat2 la bayar because credit card's interest is daunting!
So that's it for my money saving aspirations and strategies.. Semoga istiqomah \\(^^)
