The B40 Budget – Fair and Just?

• By CompareHero.my
• November 5, 2018

So the most anticipated Malaysia Budget 2019 has just been tabled. There have been many reactions to this somewhat interesting budget presentation by our Finance Minister, YB Lim Guan Eng on November 2nd 2018.

There are many ways to analyse this budget but i guess the most glaring aspect of this budget is that it’s catered to support and ease the bottom 40% of households (B40 group) of the country. Just to refresh your mind, do read The T20, M40 And B40 Income Classifications in Malaysia.

Now, coming back to the ‘B40 Budget’ as I would label it, the Minister during his presentation has made several announcements that is aimed to upheld this targeted group. Lets take a look and see what are the touch points. Well the entire speech was 78 pages long so lets look at them in a nutshell first. Below are some of the touch points for the B40 group.

• Ensuring Quality of Life
• Increasing Job Opportunities and Marketability
• Improve the Quality of Health Services and Social Welfare Protection
• Increase Usable Income
• Housing For All

But lets now dwell a little deeper as to how the above points are actually beneficial and you can be the judge by the time you have read this article.

Related: Compare Broadband Internet Plans in Malaysia [updated December 2018]

Healthcare

1. The government will pilot a national health insurance scheme for the bottom 40% of the population (B40).
2. Under the B40 Health Protection Fund scheme, the government together with private insurers will provide free protection against the top four critical illness and up to 14 days of hospitalisation benefits starting in January.
3. The free protection against the top four critical illness will go up to a sum of RM8,000, while the hospitalisation income cover will be at RM50 per day or RM700 per annum.

In addition, the Health Ministry will pilot a nationwide health screening programme, dubbed PEKA (Health Protection Scheme), for 800,000 individuals aged 50 and above in the B40 segment at a cost of RM100 million.

Read Also : Budget 2019: Summary Infographics To See

Housing 

1. Exemption of the real property gains tax for low-cost, low-medium cost and affordable housing with prices below RM200,000 as contained in Budget 2019 can help stabilise the current market,
2. A fund amounting to RM1 billion would be established by Bank Negara Malaysia to help those in the lower income group earning not more than RM2,300 per month to own a house for the first time.

Related: Free water for B40 in Selangor only for 2019

Bantuan Sara Hidup

1. 4.1 million households will benefit from the Cost of Living Aid (BSH) scheme under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.
2. The scheme with an allocation of RM5 billion, will continue to be improved by the government with a more targeted assistance to B40 households.
3. This includes households with a monthly income of RM2,000 and below that will receive aid of RM1,000, while those with a monthly income from RM2,001 to RM3,000 and below will receive a total of RM750,
4. Those with monthly incomes from RM3,001 to RM4,000 will also receive a total of RM500.

Related: RM1.6bil In Cash Handouts (BR1M) From Mid August 

Meanwhile, Bank Negara Malaysia will set up a fund amounting to RM1 billion to help the low-income bracket earning not more than RM2,300 per month to own homes, priced up to RM150,000, for the first-time.

The fund will be made available from Jan 1, 2019, at participating financial institutions through a concessionary financing rate as low as 3.5% per annum.

Here is a quick peek of the budget in 2 min!

(Video Source : The Star Online YouTube Channel)

Must Read : Budget 2019: How Income Inequality in Malaysia can Affect You
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Malaysia Budget 2019 – Live Updates at 4PM

• By CompareHero.my
• November 2, 2018

Our Closing Thoughts on Budget 2019

Adoi – that was a lot to take in! Lim Guan Eng was, admittedly, speaking so fast that we had a hard time catching up. This budget announcement was heavy and carries three significant themes:

• Institutional Reforms
• People’s Well-being
• Pollution & Entrepreneurial Culture

The total budget allocated for 2019 is total of RM314.55 billion, of which RM259.85 billion is for operational expenditure such as administration duties, and RM54.7 billion is for developmental expenditure, such as building and upgrading of schools.

Related: Budget 2020: Live Updates on 11 Oct 2019

A lot of points were mentioned and brought up, mostly touching on topics relating to the B40 income group, as well as the introduction of new taxes such as sugar tax, digital tax, and imported services tax.

We’ll be providing more information in the following weeks, so hang around!

Related: Budget 2019: Summary Infographics

Updates on the Malaysia Budget 2019

Every 3rd quarter of a year, the Malaysian National Budget becomes the hot topic of discussion. Seated on the edges of our seats, knuckles white around our smartphones, all of us anxiously wait to see the announcements. For Budget 2019 (#belanjawan2019), it is going to be an even more anxious wait for several reasons.

It is the first change of government in a long time. Our national debt is high. Our very own Minister of Finance has said that there will be “no goodies to give out” this time. There is also a page where citizens can give and read suggestions for the Budget 2019. Find sites related to Malaysia Budget 2019 below.

Live Budget 2019 Malaysia Updates

Official Budget 2019 Malaysia Websites:

• Belanjawan 2019 website: Budget 2019 Official Site
• Malaysia Ministry of Finance: Malaysia Treasury Official Site
• Watch the official MOF live-stream: Belanjawan 2019 MOF Announcement Live on FB

Get Official Budget 2019 Whatsapp updates

Just click here to automatically text “Hello MOF” to 011-1000 3001: http://bit.ly/belanjawan2019wa

Alternatively, you can perform the following manually:

1. Add 011-1000 3001 to your WhatsApp contact – MOF’s official WhatsApp number
2. Send “Hello MOF”
3. You will receive a response that says:
   1. “Salam sejahtera, Salam Sayangi Malaysiaku. Terima kasih atas minat anda.
      Kemaskini Belanjawan 2019 akan dihantar terus ke telefon anda melalui aplikasi ini.
      Belanjawan 2019 akan dibentang pada pukul 4 petang pada 2 November 2018”.

Other Budget 2019 Malaysia news below:

• Budget 2019 Malaysia: Revisiting Budget 2018 Malaysia
• Budget 2019 Malaysia: Looking at the Rakyat’s Suggestions
• Budget 2019: How Income Inequality in Malaysia can Affect You
• What Is Missing From Budget 2018? Here Are What The Experts Think

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How You Duit – Blogger Edition 2

• By CompareHero.my
• November 1, 2018

This time we’re going to be featuring another group of authors from famous financial blogs in Malaysia!

• Finance Malaysia
  As a blogger of Finance Malaysia for several years now, it’s been an amazing journey to learn and share with fellow followers. Overwhelming responds from our followers give us the motivation to continue writing and sharing. My hands feel itchy if I didn’t post updates every day 🙂

• Michelle, The Money Magnet
  She recently left her full-time employment to be a stay-at-home mum so that she can spend more time with her toddler. When her toddler naps or sleeps, she writes on her personal finance blog at https://the-money-magnet.com. She hopes that sharing on her blog will benefit her readers in terms of better financial decisions.

• KC Lau
  KC Lau wonders, “Am I the most well-known financial blogger in Malaysia?”
  Maybe?

• Lynn & Ringgit
  Late 20’s with a heart for friends, food and writing money diaries. Likes to thrift, splurge, collect freebies and dividend slips.

• Aaron, Mr. Stingy
  He started his career in a great company in a good industry, but never saved any money. Like any typical millennial, he too had an identity crisis, and decided to quit his job to pursue bigger dreams.  With an education debt, he had to learn to save money and be creative to pay it back.
  He is also fortunate enough to have significant salary increases over next few years and didn’t really upgrade his lifestyle, deciding to put these into savings/investments instead.
  After that, he quit another good job to pursue his passion, taking a 52% pay cut, only to then quit again to try something new and novel.
  Now that he is financially stable, he is working for financial independence while balancing everything to have a passionate, meaningful life.
  “Not easy, but important things are never easy aren’t they?” No, they never are.

• Charles Tan, Kopi And Property
  Charles Tan believes everyone should own at least one property so that one day when one retires, there’s no need to worry about rental. He blogs at kopiandproperty.com, sharing his experience as a working professional who’s also a property investor (slowly…). His favourite car brand is Audi, but he’s currently driving a 9-year old Persona, which has served him very wel (power-window’s working just fine). He loves shopping, looking for value; his favourite food and drink is dry-curry mee and Ipoh white coffee.

Related: How You Duit Blogger Edition 1

Curious about their financial habits and want to have a peek in their wallets? Read on!

How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?

Finance Malaysia: RM500

Michelle: RM205

KCLau: US$20

Lynn: RM231.05

Mr. Stingy: RM110

Charles: RM600

What’s the best financial advice you have ever received?

Finance Malaysia:  Do your own daily budgeting and starts investing as early as possible.

Michelle: Save early and watch the miracle of compounding interest as you grow older.

KCLau: You don’t have to make a lot of money to be rich.

Lynn: 1/3 giving, 1/3 investment, 1/3 spending.

Mr. Stingy: Pay yourself first (save/invest first) before you do anything with your monthly salary.

Charles: It’s best to start investing 20 years ago. You missed it. Second best time is now.

What’s your most expensive purchase? That’s not a property or vehicle.

Finance Malaysia: Overseas vacation trip because of honeymoon after married.

Michelle: My IVF treatments to fulfill my dream to have my baby.

KCLau: RM25000 baby grand piano, because I play it everyday!

Lynn: Mui Mui headband. It’s a headband. -.-

Mr. Stingy: A nice watch for my dad. Because the best way to buy happiness is to spend it on those you love.

Charles: My GEOX leather shoe. At nearly RM400 after a massive discount, it is still more than double what I usually pay for leather shoes. I wanted to see if it’s really that good. Yes, it’s pretty good.

What did you spend your very first pay on?

Finance Malaysia: Loan repayment.

Michelle: Gave some to my mum and a nice dinner for my family.

KCLau: A digital 88-key keyboard.

Lynn: I don’t remember. Give me a time machine and I’ll show you. We’ll try!

Mr. Stingy: Belanja friends and family.

Charles: That’s 20 years ago. I bought a pair of Camel leather shoe.

Are you more of a spender or saver? Why?

Finance Malaysia: Saver. Because of personal financial security feeling.

Michelle: I used to be a saver, but since I have my baby, I am slowly becoming a spender. I think I need to revert myself to a saver again!

KCLau: I try to strike a balance. I only spend on what I need and want, but not on luxury.

Lynn: In between. I am an emotional spender and saver.

Mr. Stingy: Naturally a spender. Took on this Mr-Stingy alter ego and ended up a saver. Because one day I did some calculations and discovered I was in a really bad financial situation. Saving saved my life.

Charles: I love to shop, and I have over 25 pairs of leather shoes. However, I think I am a saver as I seldom buy anything without discounts.

Which do you prefer using – cash or card? Why?

Finance Malaysia: Card. Convenient and safer from robbery after cash withdrawal from bank.

Michelle: Card whenever possible. It is quick, convenient and I can better track my spending.

KCLau: Card – points, rebate, air miles and tracking.

Lynn: Cards! I like to max up the perks of a card.

Mr. Stingy: Credit card if at all possible. For the cashback and points.

Charles: CARD. Flexibility, Points and Prestige.

Do you own a property?

Finance Malaysia: Yes.

Michelle: No.

KCLau: Yes.

Lynn: No.

Mr. Stingy: Yes.

Charles: Yes.

Tell us how you made your biggest financial mistake! 

Finance Malaysia: Listening to stocks tips given by friends.

Michelle: I should have learned to be willing to take more risk by investing more in my younger years.

KCLau: Invest without due diligence. Every time when I lose money, it is always in the situation that I cannot control, e.g. business partnerships that I don’t run the show, exotic investment schemes.

Lynn: I surveyed everything about buying a gadget, and the shop offered a good price. But the sales person pushes me to a different model with different parts, which I did not do the price check, end up I paid much more than online price.

Mr. Stingy: First two years of work. Didn’t have any significant savings even though I was earning okay. All because I said, “I’ll save at the end of the month what’s left over.” Of course, there was never anything left over.

Charles: Bought one particular stock which someone recommended. Spent 5-figure. Lost it all when stock got delisted.

Can you describe your recent impulsive purchase?

Finance Malaysia: Impulsive action from me.

Michelle: Two beautiful dresses (of almost the same design) at one go because I just love how comfortable they made me feel!

KCLau: I seldom have impulsive purchase… I try to buy the things that I need to use only. The most recent bigger-than-usual-purchase was renting a Chevrolet Camaro for my upcoming Phoenix trip.

Lynn: I saw someone holding a beautiful Issey Miyaki Bao Bao. Next thing I know, I woke up with the bag.

Mr. Stingy: Something really small, like an Aunt Anne’s pretzel. (Other than food, I don’t do impulsive purchases.)

Charles: Three new long sleeve shirts. It was on offer and was like buying three for the price of one.

Do you have a PRS (Private Retirement Scheme)?

Finance Malaysia: Yes.

Michelle: Yes.

KCLau: Yes.

Lynn: Yes.

Mr. Stingy: Yes.

Charles: Yes.

How You Duit? is a recurring feature on CompareHero.my’s blog, where we ask 10 questions on personal finance habits and dive into the wallets of our fellow Malaysians.

If you haven’t read the first part of this series, check out our How You Duit Blogger Edition 1

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• October 31, 2018

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