Understanding Living Wage in Malaysia
- By CompareHero.my
- May 15, 2018
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) recently introduced the concept of “Living Wage” and it created quite a bit of confusion. It really is guide on what is acceptable as minimum living standards, it is not a minimum wage indicator nor a benchmark to assess poverty. Here we’ll explain what a “Living Wage” is and how it impacts us. (more…)
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Easy Tips To Boost Your AirAsia BIG Points Fast
- By CompareHero.my
- April 26, 2018
AirAsia BIG Points can be your golden ticket to even affordable flights, because they’re as good as cash! And if you get really creative, there are a host of ways to increase your points balance so you can take off to that dream destination in no time.
Everybody knows you can earn AirAsia BIG Points on flights and staying at partner hotels, but did you know that you can earn points by shopping online, getting insured, seeing a doctor and even when you buy a car?! Then there’s also points conversion from banks, a petrol loyalty program and online trading platforms. Here, we’ve pulled together our top tips to earning AirAsia BIG Points in your daily life.
Tip #1 – Collect BIG Points on your DAILY spend.
Urban folks easily spend an upwards of hundreds on groceries, food and household items. Wouldn’t it be great if you could earn the same amount in points when you spend on your necessities?
Example: If you spend RM400 a month on groceries, food and household items, you could earn 4,800 BIG Points in a year. That’s the equivalent of a one-way flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Penang.
| Earn 1 BIG Point For Every RM1 Spent | |
| Groceries from Honestbee | Household items from 11street |
| Food delivery from Pappa Delivery | Healthy snacks from Amazingraze |
Tip #2 – Collect BIG Points on your MONTHLY spend.
Staying up-to-date with fashion and beauty trends can be considered a must for some. Same goes with entertainment and other lifestyle choices. It would only make sense that since one is already going to spend a certain amount on a monthly basis for these items, earning BIG Points to lessen your travelling budget is simply a savvy move.
Example: If you spend RM600 on your monthly lifestyle activities, you could earn 7,200 BIG Points in a year. That will get you a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket.
| Earn 1 BIG Point For Every RM1 Spent | |
| Fashion from FashionValet & Uniqlo | Skincare from Dermalogica and b.liv |
| Makeup from Hermo & Sephora | Kids clothing from CMG |
| Shoes from Christy Ng | Books from Kinokuniya |
| Discount coupons from Fave | Contact lenses from MrLens |
| Flowers from BloomThis & Happy Bunch | Kids toys from Kids Forte |
| Earn 1 BIG Point For Every RM5 Spent | |
| Fashion from Zalora | General items from Lazada |
Tip #3 – Collect BIG Points on your ANNUAL spend.
These little things in life often end up as fairly large expenditures. Good budgeting allows us to spend on these lifestyle items once in a while and the bonus we get at work, almost always goes to a little pampering of yourself. In 1 year, how much do you spend on these items? And have you had to sacrifice travelling because of these hefty expenses? With BIG Points, you won’t have to anymore.
Example: If you spend an accumulative RM6500 in one year, that’s another 6,500 BIG Points that could fly you to Ho Chi Minh!
| Earn 1 BIG Point For Every RM1 Spent | |
| Book a doctor’s appointment with GetDoc | Life insurance from HLA Touch |
| Health screening at Sunway Medical Centre | Car tyres from MyTayar.com |
| Newspaper subscription from The Star | Gadgets from Gearbest |
| Men’s tailored clothing from SmartMaster | Luxury handbags from Reebonz |
| Electrical items from Senheng | Jewellery from Jeoel |
There are many other ways to earn more BIG Points from your lifestyle, including spends on Pizza Hut, event tickets from Red Tix and even when you buy a BMW. Check out the full list of merchants here.
Tip #4 – Convert your loyalty reward points to BIG Points.
From credit cards to petrol loyalty cards and even online trading platforms, you can actually accumulate the rewards points from your daily expenses and convert them into AirAsia BIG Points. There’s a total of 15 banks and partners you can choose from, and you can see more details in an article we’ve previously written here.
Example: If you convert 6,000 Timeless Bonus Points from your Alliance Bank credit card, you’ll get 2,000 BIG Points. You can even add on conversions from 2,000 Petron Miles Points and 1,000 Rakuten Trade Points to top up your BIG account by another 2,000 BIG Points.
|
Contents Banks/Partners |
Points Required To Convert Into 1,000 AirAsia BIG Points |
| Alliance Bank | 3,000 Timeless Bonus Points |
| Citibank | 7,600 AirAsia Points |
| Maybank | 7,420 TreatsPoints |
| CIMB Bank | 4,000 Bonus Points |
| Standard Chartered Bank | 7,000 360’ Rewards Points (Visa Infinite) 2,000 WorldMiles (WorldMiles Card) |
| UOB Bank | 7,000 UniRinggit Reward Points |
| AmBank | 5,000 AmBonus Points |
| RHB Bank | 6,000 Rewards Points |
| Public Bank | 3,500 Rewards Points |
| Rakuten Trade | 1,000 Rakuten Trade Points |
| RHB Trade Smart | 3,000 SmartPoints |
| Mydin | 4,000 Meriah Points |
| Petron | 2,000 Petron Miles Points |
| Tune Talk | 1,000 Tune Talk Points |
This Promotion Has Ended: 30% More AirAsia BIG Points When You Convert Your Bank Points
Tip #5 – Follow AirAsia BIG instructions to earn these points fast.
Always go to www.airasiabig.com to shop for all the items you want to earn BIG points for. You must go through AirAsia BIG Loyalty’s website, get redirected to the store you want and make a purchase then. Staying within the redirected store website until you complete your purchase is the only way you’ll be successful in earning your BIG Points. For points conversion, there are easy to follow instructions on AirAsia BIG Loyalty’s website as well.
Just remember, the best things in life can be free! By our rough calculations, if you go about your spending using these tips, plus the additional flight and hotel spend you may already have with AirAsia, it could earn you a free return ticket to Hong Kong! And if you’re smart, look out for the AirAsia BIG Loyalty exclusive promotions on the AirAsia BIG Loyalty app such as Final Call Sale, Final Call Sale X and Fixed Points so you can fly further with up to 90% savings!
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5 Tips for P2P Investing: Best Practices in 2018
- By CompareHero.my
- April 25, 2018
Contents
P2P Investing Best Practices 2018 – An Investors Guide
Thinking on starting your investment journey? Or looking for option that provide better returns? Here is a tip guide on Peer-To-Peer Investing or P2P Funding best practices. Be warned though, investing in P2P can get addicting because it can be quite fun analysing notes to make a greater return on your money.
Peer-to-Peer Funding, also commonly known as P2P Lending, usually refers to an online service that handles all of the logistics for both borrowers and lenders. In addition to providing agreements, payment processing, and borrower evaluation, P2P funding is an easy marketplace for individuals and organizations to connect.
In Malaysia, the Securities Commission (SC) is the regulatory body for P2P funding activities via its P2P regulatory framework and there are a few platforms where you could invest your funds in. Working with each P2P funding platform is different but we like Fundaztic. They allow you to start investing with just RM50 and even an easy to understand video instructions to register.
See also: How To Make More Money With P2P
Tip #1 – Understand Risk Appetite
If you’re just getting started with P2P financing as an investment tool, take it slow. This is where you need to understand your risk appetite, the risk grades of the businesses that are asking for money and find one that you’re comfortable putting money towards. Manage your expectations. Although it’s tempting to go for higher-risk businesses, because of the higher interest rates and thus higher returns, you need to ask yourself what you can stand to lose if they default on their payments. Fundaztic has a great risk profiling questionnaire that can give you a head start.
Tip #2 – Research and Evaluate
Study the business plan of the issuer. It is very important to know the risk associated with the borrower. While Fundaztic does perform a credit evaluation process with a Probability of Default rate, you should always read the profile and evaluate for yourself if the information is something you believe in.
Tip #3 – Practice Diversification
Diversification is an important point when investing in P2P funding. You should diversify your investment by spreading it across multiple investment notes, with different risk grades, interests and tenure. This way, you minimise the risk of defaults and protect your investments. When you spread your money this way, your profits are likely to be higher than your defaults. And while it sounds more time consuming than it actually is, Fundaztic does offer an auto-invest feature which automatically invest into the investment notes based on the investor’s investment criteria. Furthermore, with a minimum investment of just RM50, anyone can practise diversification through Fundaztic.
Tip #4 – Re-Invest
As you get your principal and interest repayments monthly, don’t just cash out your P2P returns the moment you’re able. Make the most of capital gains by continually reinvesting your returns into new investment notes. This way, your money is always working hard for you. Without reinvestment, your repayments are simply earning zero return. Through continuous diversification and reinvestment, you can earn as much as 23% in effective interest rates.
Tip #5 – Fund Yourself First
Before you become a P2P investor, make sure that you can cover your financial commitments and you have a strong emergency fund for those rainy days. You won’t able to withdraw money from the P2P platform at a whim. And while the total amount of money to invest into P2P financing depends on your financial situation, you should always remember, P2P investing has somewhat of a learning curve. It is easy to get excited and carried away early on. We suggest to start with a small amount, gain some experiences and decide whether it is for you and then increase your deposits over time.
Investing with P2P funding is a fairly straightforward process, but you need to take reasonable precautions like the ones outlined above. Follow these tips, keep learning everything you can, and never take on more risk than you know you can handle.
Are you ready? Start here. There’s even a handy video guide to help you register.
Disclaimer: Neither CompareHero.my nor the content on it is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. The content on CompareHero.my is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be personalised investment advice or a solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities.
Compargo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and/or its affiliates cannot and do not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. CompareHero.my may receive compensation from the brands or services mentioned on this website.
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5 Budgeting Apps You Can’t Live Without
- By CompareHero.my
- April 9, 2018
If you’ve ever set yourself a budget with the best of intentions but lost track of it along the way, ending up just spending money without any idea of how much you’re spending or what on, then these smartphone apps are for you.
Whichever app you go for in the end, you will have all the data you need to stick to your budget in your pocket, so you can check it in the supermarket or when you’re doing your online shopping. All of the apps listed here are free, so there’s no excuse not to give them a go and start managing your finances! Check out these free budgeting apps and be on your way to saving more money!
1. Mint
Best for: those wanting a do-it-all expense tracker app
Image by Mint via The Balance
Mint is one of the oldest and best-known budgeting apps around. It offers an array of features to help you track and manage your money. Coming with a wide range of features, its most useful has always been its budgeting tools, which are front and center when you log in. Mint can automatically categorise transactions from linked credit and debit cards, tracings them against a budget you that you can customize according to your needs. You can also get alerts if you go over budget, review spending by categories and look at your overall cash flow to get an overall picture of where your money goes each month.
2. Spendee
Best for: those looking for a basic expense tracker app
Image by Spendee via iTunes
A popular choice, mainly due to its minimalistic interface that is easy to navigate. The main feature gives an overview of your weekly spending, organised from the most recent expenses or savings to the least recent. There are also options to display an overview of the month, year or a custom period of time. It has intuitive user interfaces with common and understandable labels. Uses consistent colour codes (green and red is used for credit and debit respectively in the expense category) in enhancing functionality and also interactions with the entire experience. There are a fare bit of animations here and there to keep things looking ‘lively’.
3. Expensify
Best for: those managing business expenses
Image by Expensify
This app is a favourite among startups, as accounts using the same email domain can be linked for easy submission and tracking. You can easily group your expenses under different Reports or Trips. The app is handy to have while traveling since it tracks distance and time spent on a particular project. It also converts currencies for international travels and provides tools to create and track your business budget. There is even a “Billable” and “Reimbursable” button to categorise your expenses. One unique feature of this expense tracker app is SmartScan, which reads your receipts for all the details of an expense. It was designed so there would be “no typing needed on your end”. It can also convert expenditures from different currencies.
4. Monny
Best for: those who want to get into the habit of tracking expenses
Image by Monny via iTunes
This app is popular with the millennials, we think because of its ‘cuteness’. The app gives you mini challenges to make saving a bit more exciting. For example, the first challenge is to key in entries for 7 days straight, which would be helpful for getting you into the habit of using the app, if you’ve never used budget tracking apps before. The app records a daily or monthly report of all your transactions and creates reports to show where your money is being spent. It features simple and fast entries to make expense tracking easy, friendly analytical reports, charts, and top rankings, and separate account books designed for traveling.
5. Goodbudget
Image by Goodbudget via Google Play Store
Formerly known as Easy Envelope Budget Aid, Goodbudget is a perfect option for couples that want to share their budgeting process together. It uses the familiar envelope budgeting philosophy to power your proactive budget for all of your bills and spending. Because you can share and sync budgets with budgeting partners across the iPhone and Android spectrum, it is great for couples with shared finances, but it works great for solo budgeters, too. If you’re unfamiliar with the envelope system, it basically means dividing your cash into separate envelopes for different expenses like groceries, utilities and car loan.
With the wide array of expense tracker apps out there, it can be a little daunting to decide on just one to help manage your money. So do try any one of the apps above and let us know what you think. All the apps above are available on both the Apply App Store and Android Google Play Store. They’re also free to use, but some have paid versions you can upgrade to.
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The Complete Malaysia Personal Income Tax Guide 2018 (YA 2017) [INFOGRAPHIC]
- By CompareHero.my
It’s tax filing season again! Do you know how to file your personal income tax? Is this your first time or are you one of those who forgets the details (as this only happens once a year). That is why we have made a quick guide to file your income tax 2018.
Related: [LIVE] Budget 2019 Malaysia Updates & Highlights
The biggest change we’ve seen over the years is the increasing number of people moving from manual tax filing to e-filing. Long gone are the days of filling in paper forms, doing all kinds of math in order to calculate our taxes and rushing to the IRB (Inland Revenue Board) offices to submit the pile of forms and receipts. Malaysia implemented e-filing some years ago and it is important to note that taxpayers have now preferred to submit their income tax returns through e-filing. The e-filing system is open from March 1st every year, to April 30th. However, there is a grace period or an extended deadline for e-filing till May 15th. Always remember to double check these dates on LHDN (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negara) website. The system of e-filing is simple and user friendly and a lot faster than manual filing, that is why it is quickly becoming the most popular for tax payers in the country. But if you still think filing your income tax is still a hassle, don’t worry! CompareHero has your back, we have a quick guide to help you file your income tax.
How to file your personal income tax online in Malaysia:
- Basic requirements
- Which forms to use
- Tax reliefs & rebates
- Filing online
- Payment options
- Through FPX
- Over the counter
- Through ATM
If you’re anxious about getting caught in the crowds of people paying their taxes at the last minute, there’s some good news. If you own a credit card, you can opt to pay your income tax by charging it to your card instead. You may also pay your taxes through ATM or over the counter at your local bank if it’s possible.
Check out our awesome infographic below, The Quick Guide to Filing Your 2018 Income Tax. Click on the infographic to zoom in, so that you won’t miss any detail!
Once you’ve finished filing your income tax return for the year, you can move on to other pressing concerns like saving more money for the future. Use CompareHero’s online comparison tool to find the best bargains on pocket-friendly credit cards, personal loans, and more financial products.
Use our free comparison tool on our site to find the best personal loan that suits your needs, the best credit card for cashback, rewards, air miles or best deals.
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