12 Ways To Celebrate Christmas Without Blowing Your Budget

• By CompareHero.my
• December 9, 2018

In many Christian countries and communities around the world, the Christmas season brings with it a wave of holiday hysteria that will put strain on anybody’s wallet. Malaysia may be predominantly Muslim but Christians and non-Christians alike can certainly get into the festive spirit. The season brings with it holiday sales and events, which means more crowds and traffic, and this can take your December from festive to frantic in an instant!

Want to celebrate while still saving some cash for the New Year? Here are a dozen ways you can improve your Christmas spending in keeping with your budget.

1. Go DIY for gifts

If you’ve got a special hobby or talent, don’t be afraid to use it! Make your own gifts for other people to love and enjoy, paying close attention to seasonal trends or personal preferences. Bake homemade fudge brownies for a chocolate addict, knit a cute hat in your sister’s favorite color, or compose a song for your significant other.

2. Give the gift of memories

Related to Tip # 1, this gift idea is great for both your close relatives and your oldest friends. Take a stylish photo album or scrapbook, then fill it with pictures of memorable moments and experiences you’ve shared with your intended recipient. For even more of a personal touch, add stickers or funny captions to your favorite photos.

Related: Best Christmas Buffet Deals In Klang Valley

3. Pay it forward

Want to skip the blatant materialism that goes with the holiday? Give the gift of good deeds! Offer to donate to someone’s favorite charity, or help them out with a long-overdue errand such as home de-cluttering.

Know someone who’s always wanted to try something new? Treat them to cooking, art, or dancing lessons, or teach them something you’re exceptionally good at. The trick here is to substitute a physical item with a valuable experience, something your recipient would love.

4. Be choosy with who you give gifts to

Unless you commute to work in a sleigh and keep reindeer as pets, getting gifts for every single person you know is neither your job nor your obligation. Keep your list of people to buy gifts for short and manageable to prevent any undue stress. As much as possible you should stick to loved ones, trusted friends, and/or people you genuinely respect.

Related: Most Expensive Christmas Gifts Ever Given

5. Ditch the wrapping paper for fabric

Every year we go through rolls of the stuff, only to dump it all in the trash when the gift-giving is over. Instead of adding more waste to landfills, take a more practical approach to wrapping presents. One nifty idea is to substitute wrapping paper for a functional fabric item, like a large towel or a tablecloth in a beautiful pattern. The Japanese art of furoshiki shows you how to wrap your gift elegantly using just a square of fabric and some origami-like folding techniques.

6. Wrap your gifts in newspaper

If you still prefer the old-fashioned approach to gift wrapping, scour your home and office for cheaper gift wrap alternatives. Old newspapers, catalogs, and glossy magazines remain a classic standby you can spruce up with the right ribbon and design accents. Look for the colourful Sunday comics pages when wrapping gifts for kids, or choose all-text spreads if you’re wrapping a gift for typography nerds.

Related: 12 Ways of Christmas Shopping

7. Sending Christmas 2018 cards? Go electronic

Say goodbye to the yearly nuisance of shopping for greeting cards and postage stamps; use the World Wide Web to come up with tasteful holiday cards to send to your family circle via email or Facebook. Even the most basic Photoshop skills can produce a ecard with that dash of something special – something you can’t buy in any store.

8. Plan how to spend your holiday bonus

Expecting a holiday or year-end bonus? Don’t jump the gun and splurge it on your personal wish list right away! Try setting aside a fraction of it to add toward one of your long-term financial goals, such as buying a new car or saving up for a house. Once you’re satisfied with the amount you’ve saved, divide the rest between your regular home expenses and your own wants.

9. Decorate your home with things you already own

Before you buy new Christmas decorations, always go over your old ones. Mix and match décor from different seasons, so long as you keep things classy and simple. If you’re a parent, you can get creative and decorate your Christmas tree with your children’s small toys or knickknacks for a fun change.

Related: Practical Tips for Giving Christmas Gifts on a Budget

10. Simplify party catering with potlucks

Whether you’re throwing a family reunion or planning a party at the office, potlucks are one of the easiest ways to procure enough food for everyone. Before the actual party, coordinate with your guests on who can bring what dish. This will prevent unexpected surprises such as a party with all dessert and no main course, or half a dozen varieties of the same food.

10. Simplify party entertainment with fun time-killers

Christmas parties don’t need to be bombastic affairs with free-flowing drinks and karaoke. Depending on the company you keep, your gatherings can be just as entertaining when all you have is an iPod sound system and tons of funny stories to go around. Throw impromptu Christmas carol singing contests, share silly things you’ve found on the Internet, or play DVDs of holiday movies everyone loves (or cheesy movies everyone loves to mock).

Related: 15 Money-Saving Gift Shopping Tips For Christmas

11. Budget time to spend with your family

Between your job, your family obligations, and all the hiccups that come with the holiday rush, managing your time wisely becomes more important than ever. Plan ahead when you go out for shopping errands; department stores are a convenient place to find gifts, décor, and party supplies in one go. If you need to go out of town or take a few days off for family gatherings, be sure to inform your work superiors about your plans in advance to prevent any confusion.

12. Be kind to yourself

After putting up with the usual holiday mayhem, it’s only natural for you to want to reward yourself for a job well done. This time of year tend to bring out the holiday blues in many people, so it’s important for you to cool off every now and then to preserve your sanity. Take some much-needed time to recharge and prepare for the year ahead by relaxing in the comfort of your own home. As long as you don’t get carried away, alone time can make a huge difference in making the holidays more bearable.

Want to get your hands on more money advice? This festive season, explore the CompareHero blog and read up on all the different ways you can save!

Related: Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas Under RM50

PTPTN PGB – What’s That? Loan Repayment, That’s What.

• By CompareHero.my
• December 6, 2018

PTPTN borrowers will soon have to repay their loans in specific amounts depending on their monthly income by automatic deduction – whether they like it or not. PTPTN will be working with several different agencies such as EPF to carry out the PGB, Potongan Gaji Berjadual. Want to know how much you’ll have to repay? Read on to find out.

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We’re Hiring! Job Vacancies At CompareHero.my [Dec 2018]

• By CompareHero.my

Come work with us. We are looking for driven people who are passionate about what they do and would like to be part of a forward-looking team. Both full-time positions and internships are available.

FULL-TIME ROLES IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE – As at December 2018

1. Customer Service

2. Admin Executive

3. Content Specialist – Social Media

4. Content Specialist – Video

Click the individual positions for job description.

Send your resume to hr@comparehero.my

EXCITING INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE – As at January 2019

1. Graphic Design

2. Video Production

3. Content Writer

4. Digital Marketing

Click the individual positions for job description.

Send your resume to hr@comparehero.my

FinTechs differ from regular financial institutions in terms of scale and approach, as do their responses to internal and external conditions. The roles at FinTech start-ups are aligned to meet a few specific success criteria of a typical FinTech firm. If you’re a bold, creative individual with the tech know-how to propel financial services into the future, your talents will be highly valued and rewarded.

 
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Malaysia’s Unlimited Monthly Pass For Commuting With Rapid KL

• By CompareHero.my
• December 4, 2018

Source: The Malaysian Insight

Updated: 4 December 2018 – You can purchase the monthly pass now!

The passes are called MY100 (for LRT, MRT, Monorail, BRT, and Bas Rapid KL with 30-day validity) and MY50 (for Bas Rapid KL with 30-day validity). They can be bought at all MRT, LRT, Monorail, and BRT stations, including 5 bus hubs: Pasar Seni, Seksyen 2 Shah Alam, Sri Nilam, Greenwood, and Terminal Kajang.

The pass is integrated with your MyKad or MyTentera identification cards. You will be required to top up a minimum of RM105 for MY100 and RM53 for MY50 when applying for the transport passes (balance of RM5 and RM3 will remain in your identification card after purchasing the transport passes respectively). The passes are only available to MyKad and MyTentera holders only, meaning foreigners are not eligible.

Those who park their cars at MRT Park n Ride facilities can still enjoy the flat-rate parking provided that they use the pass-activated MyKad to enter the parking. You can also select for automatic-renewal when you purchase and activate your pass.

Read more about the Unlimited Transport Pass on Rapid KL’s Facebook page here: Pas Perjalanan Tanpa Had MY100 & MY50

According to our Transport Minister, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, a RM100 monthly pass for unlimited access to public transportation should be available early next year, 2019. The monthly pass is part of Pakatan Harapan’s general election pledge.

Just at the beginning of July, however, the unlimited monthly public transport pass was said to have been put on hold for review before implementation due to the financial impact it would have on the government. So do keep in mind that this monthly transport pass is still in its planning stages, though it is reassuring to have a rough estimate on when it will be available.

The monthly transport pass is a great news to all as it would help those taking public transportation to save more and encourage those who aren’t to do so thereby, reducing all the horrific traffic jams we face in Selangor and KL. The implementation of the current MRT (Kajang – Kuala Lumpur – Sungai Buloh) has already given people better accesses to several key-points in Kuala Lumpur, especially those coming from both Kajang and Sungai Buloh.

How much money can be saved with the unlimited monthly pass?

Doing calculations based on my own travelling costs on weekdays to work via the MRT from Kajang to KL, I would be saving about 65% from my monthly costs. Most people could easily be spending between RM160 – RM200 a month on public transportation alone; having the unlimited monthly pass would halve that.

What will the unlimited monthly transportation pass cover?

It is currently not known which public transport and routes will the unlimited monthly pass cover, though our Transport Minister did mention that the monthly pass will “encourage more people to use the MRT as well as busses …”. For now, let’s not make any assumptions under further clarification from the Ministry of Transportation.

Currently, the MRT’s ticket fare between two stations is roughly about RM1.10 – RM1.30, depending on whether you go cashless, cash, or through concessions.

The unlimited monthly pass would complement the upcoming MRT2 that is estimated to be fully completed by July 2022, though its first phase is slated for a July 2021 completion – covering from Kwasa Damansara to Kampung Batu. The third MRT line, MRT3, was just recently announced by the Transport Ministry to have been postponed instead of being canceled.

So what do you think about the unlimited monthly pass? Is it going to save commuters a lot of money? Let us know in the poll and comments below!

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2019年财政预算案: 马来西亚收入不平等的现象

• By CompareHero.my
• December 3, 2018

收入不平等，收入差距虽然用词不同，但是都是指同一件事，那就是有些人赚的钱比别人多。这对于大众来说是个敏感话题，毕竟牵涉到一个人的薪水。但是薪水的差异有什么影响？

薪水是其中一个决定我们的生计之一，这并不稀奇，因为我们大多数的人大半辈子都在工作中度过。因为我们大部分的时间都在工作，我们的身份会受到工作的影响。因而工作中所得到的收入变成一个衡量自身价值的工具，当这种情况发生时，讨论收入不平等变成了一件很困难的事。

虽然讨论这个话题会较敏感，但在马来西亚现有的经济情况中，收入不平等扮演着重要的角色。如果国家要继续发展，这个领域是值得我们关注的。

在这篇文章中，我们会探索什么是收入不平等，是如何衡量，以及在马来西亚的情况是如何。根据2014年皮尤全球调查，77%的大马人觉得富贵与贫穷的差距是很大的问题。

我们会探讨收入的差距对人们所造成的具体困扰，并发现大马人强烈认为收入差距越来越大。对大多数的人来说，他们觉得富贵的人越来越富贵，贫穷的人越来越贫穷。

这是由于生活成本上升以及工资上升的差距而主张的。这特别对低收入的人民来说，很容易受到这些影响。对这日益增长的问题的关心，我们想为你提供一个公平公正的面貌来了解马来西亚现在的收入差距。

什么是收入不平等，为何有这存在着?

收入不平等是基于在马来西亚人民的收入差别。基本上是“一个人与另外一个人相比相差多少?”的问题。一个合理的收入不平等的程度其实并不是一件坏事，实际上可以刺激经济成长。

这是为什么: 存在不平等是有原因的。如果每个人所赚的数额都一样，没有人（机构或个人）会被激励，而改善他们的生产力。这是资本主义的基础:你生产的越多，你的工作效率就越高。

• 收入平等可以是两个同等资格的同事做同样的事情而引起的，但一个是做兼职，另外一个是做全职。
• 另外，医生比Grab司机赚得更多的钱，因为他们在教育上投资得更多。如果教育费用相同，人们也许会犹豫是不是要成为医生，因为时间与金钱和奖励的比例不成正比。

虽然在经济上有不平等的争论，但在社会论点上并不理想。如果在没有政府的干预下让资本主义运行，不平等会造成严重的经济，社会以及政治问题。当不平等一直加剧，他们对于首10%相比时，所得到相对较少而感到不满，因为收入总是集中在最有生产力（或特权）的人口当中。

通过社会计划以及税收，政府能够减少不平等并确保每个人至少能够生存，过着体面的生活。现在，只有0.6%的大马人生活在国家贫困线以下，这是相当正面的数字，证明马来西亚正走在正确的轨道。

当每个人至少有最低数额来生存，政府能够进一步实施再分配政策以缩减收入不平等。尤其是更容易受到经济冲击的低收入家庭，并受到生活成本上升打击的人口。为这个组群提供财务援助，能够帮助他们有更稳定的生活。

政府应该在不压制人类对生产力增长的动力下，应该努力缩减收入不平等。

如何衡量不平等收入?

最普遍及最方便衡量不平等收入的方法为基尼系数。从0到1的比例，在基尼系数里，0为在社会里大家拥有同样的财富。1则是一个人拥有其他人没有的东西。

1970年至2014年间，马来西亚的基尼系数有下跌的迹象，从1970年的0.51跌至2014年的0.401。这意味着马来西亚在过去的四十年里，收入不平等有缩减的迹象，总收入有较平均分布于整个人口中。 因此，我们可以得到一个结论就是马来西亚的收入差距正在缩小。

虽然收入差距缩小，但收入不平等可能比能够接受的程度高。为了证明这一点，我们可以在同各区域的国家里比较基尼系数，看看马来西亚收入差距高于或低于其他国家。

虽然马来西亚收入不平等有缩减，但是如果基尼系数来看，比起其他东盟国家的收入不平等还是相对的高。只有菲律宾及新加坡有较高的基尼系数。因此，我们可以得到一个结论就是，在东盟国家区域里，马来西亚的收入不平等相当高。

如何减少马来西亚的收入不平等？

虽然马来西亚的收入差距逐渐减少，但在东盟国家的区域里，马来西亚收入不平等相当高。收入不平等的最大影响收入之一是马来西亚政府。政府能够调整政策，让经济情况对低收入者较有利。政府可以采用多个方法刺激全国的收入平等。

从以上的图标来看，我们可以看到财富再分配之前及之后的基尼系数。在未把政府所付出的列入考虑范围内，马来西亚与其他先进国家的情况相同。但大部分的这些国家有更严厉的财富再分配政策，在这个图标中可看出之前之后的分别。

然而，马来西亚在基尼系数里之前和之后只有微小的差异。这可能表明了，与图标中的先进国家相比，马来西亚政府的财富再分配效果不怎么好。

我们来总结

到现在为止，虽然收入差距越来越小，但与其他东盟国家相比，收入差距还是相对1的大。再加上，比起其它国家，政府的财富再分配效果似乎不怎么好，或拥有野心。为了促进这个过程，有几件事可以改变，以促进减少收入差距:

• 提高教育水平 – 当大马人拥有较高的水平以及技术时，收入不平等将会减少。与最高组群的40%人相比，最低收入的组群，只有5%的年轻人拥有学士学位。另外，拥有学士学位的84%的大马人属于中上阶层的人。这个证明了高学历能够带来更高收入的论点。但不是所有人拥有接受高等教育的机会。因此，政府应该在不影响质量的情况下，让更多的人接受高等教育。
• 增加政府的财富再分配结果– 事实证明，政府增加了在社会经费上的支出，减少了收入不平等，减少贫困。举例，从2009年至2014年最低40的实际平均家庭收入一年增长了11.9%，与马来西亚的总人口的7.9%相比，收入差距有所减少。
• 增加高收入阶层的税收 – 比起韩国(38%)以及泰国（35%），马来西亚高收入阶层的税收只有25%。从25%提高与其他国家一致的税收，能够减少马来西亚的收入不平等。

这对你意味着什么

如果目前的走势来看，你可以期盼收入不平等在未来的几年缩减。这意味着，根据你现有的收入水平，你的财力将有所增减。如果你是高收入者，你可能需要支付高税收或者获得较少的政府津贴。

如果你是低收入者，你的福利可能会增加。政府特别指出最低层的40%将是扩大财政援助的目标。这将会通过方式提供援助，如减少税收，更多的可负担房屋，或学生贷款。

这些小的帮忙都有助于弥合马来西亚的收入差距。就是说，不要意味着依赖政府提高你的财物状况。普遍上，我们对政府如何或何时采用经济及财务政策并没有什么影响力，所以不要为这些事担心太多。所以，你应该让事情掌握在你手里。你可以采用不同的选择来增加你现有的收入。

例如，你是否想过修的额外的教育。你不需要上学院才能变聪明。互联网现在已经成文提供质量资料的来源，技术上，你可通过浏览互联网来学习你想要的资料。你知道的越多，你的生产力将会增加，你的赚钱的潜力也增加。

除了提高你的收入，你也应该减少你的费用。减少开支可以有不同的办法，最简单的方法是使用现金返现的信用卡。如果你使用正确现金返现信用卡来花费，你能够稍微减少你的开支。查看我们一系列的现金返现信用卡，以寻找符合你特定消费模式的信用卡。

考虑将你的收入多元化，而不是仅仅依赖你现有的薪水而以。当你看到高收入者的总收入是如何构成的时候，你会发现到他们收入来源源自于不同的地方。除了薪水，你可出租房间或产业，购买股票并获得股息，买债券，或则投资在P2P投资赚取利息。
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