5 Ways On How The Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card Helps You To Save More Digitally
- By CompareHero.my
- June 16, 2021
In this day and age, going digital would be the best option for convenience sake, as well as the safest option especially during a pandemic.
Some may shy away from owning credit cards as they would think it’ll just be extra expenses going out of their pockets. But that’s not the case with the Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card!
If you’re a digital savvy person who’s always making use of digital services and platforms, you’re in luck thanks to the Smart Card. Below, you’ll find 5 ways on how you could earn back some cash digitally and save more.
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1. Receive 20% OFF for online shopping purchases
Online shopping has become the new norm. Gone are the days when customers consistently flock over to shopping malls to get their shopping essentials covered.
As a cardholder of the Smart Card, when you make any online purchases from Monday to Friday and spend a minimum amount of RM150, you’ll receive 20% OFF from your total bill.
The discount is only offered to selected merchants based on the day itself:
- Monday: Shopee
- Tuesday: Lazada
- Wednesday: Taobao
- Thursday: Zalora
- Friday: HappyFresh
2. Get RM8 off your online meal deliveries
While dining in may be the most preferred option, it’s near to impossible to do so in this current pandemic. Online food deliveries have been on the rise ever since 2020.
Food deliveries aren’t the cheapest option around since you’ll have to pay for the takeaway containers as well as delivery fees. But with the Smart Card, you’ll get RM8 off FoodPanda or Grabfood online delivery expenses.
Since most of us have been working from home, online meal deliveries are the easiest and safest option. Check out the details here.
3. Gain rewards in the form of cashback with your e-wallets
Times have changed, this generation nowadays are ditching their physical wallets and going digital with opting for e-wallets instead. Almost every outlet allows customers to pay using GrabPay or Touch ‘n Go as it makes it easier since it only involves their handphones.
If you joined the bandwagon and have been using e-wallets to pay for your expenses, you’ll get to save more with the Smart Card. When you top-up your e-wallet with the Smart Card, you’ll be receiving 30% cashback in return. Imagine if you pay with your normal cash instead – there’s no cash being returned back to you at the end of the month!
The cashback applies to the following e-wallets: Boost, FavePay, GrabPay, Touch ‘n Go
4. Get 30% cashback for e-commerce spendings
With most of us working from home now, expenses may go up trying to make a comfortable, productive environment.
More people are purchasing furniture or electronics to create a better working environment from online marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee. Even daily essentials such as your regular coffee packets that you regularly purchase from grocery stores are all being done online.
Thankfully, since most of us are making all our purchases online, with the Smart Card, you’ll earn up to 30% cashback for all your purchases under the following e-commerce merchants (excluding Lazada Wallet/ShopeePay transactions): Lazada, Shopee, TaoBao and Zalora.
5. Enjoy 6% cashback for online entertainment
No cinemas, theme parks, go-karts or karaoke joints to satisfy our entertainment needs for the past year up to now. Hence, we’re forced to find ways on how to have fun while staying at home.
Though you may have already subscribed to a streaming service so you could watch all your favourite TV shows and movies online, you’ll be glad to know the Smart Card also rewards you with 6% cashback for online entertainment, applied to selected participating merchants only.
If you subscribe to any of the merchants below, you’ll save more by earning back up to RM20 every month.
- Gaming: PlayStation, Steam
- Streaming Service: Astro, Netflix, iQIYI
- Music Streaming Service: Joox, Spotify
A monthly minimum of RM1,000 is required to earn cashback
However, to receive the 30% or 6% cashback, you’ll have to spend at least a minimum amount of RM1,000 for each category. It’s not a high requirement, so you wouldn’t need to spend a huge sum of money just to maximise the benefits of the Smart Card.
Do take note that the maximum cap of cashback for e-wallets & online shopping is RM30 whereas digital entertainment spendings is RM20, meaning you can earn up to RM50 cashback a month.
Here’s a brief example of how much cash you’ll earn back if you spent RM1,000 for a month:
For Digital Lifestyle Spendings
| Merchants | Total Amount Spent (RM) | Cashback Earned (RM) |
| Monthly subscription for Astro | 270 | 16.20 |
| Monthly subscription for Netflix & iQIYI | 80 | 4.80 |
| Other retail spendings | 720 | 0 |
| Overall Total | 1,000 | 21 |
| Total cashback earned | 20 |
Since the monthly cap is RM20, even if you manage to get more cashback, you’ll only be able to receive RM20 at the most.
For e-Wallet & Online Spendings
| Merchants | Total Amount Spent (RM) | Cashback Earned (RM) |
| Furniture shopping on Lazada | 30 | 9 |
| Skincare purchases on Shopee | 50 | 15 |
| GrabPay | 20 | 6 |
| Other retail spendings | 820 | 0 |
| Overall Total | 1,000 | 30 |
| Total cashback earned | 30 |
In addition, you can even convert selected transactions into 6 instalment payments at 0% interest. Find out more here.
The Smart card would be your go-to companion if you’re looking for ways to save more on your digital lifestyle expenses. With that said, head over to the Standard Chartered Smart Credit Card product page and apply today.
- Zero cash advance fees
- Malaysia’s first CarbonNeutral® credit card
- 30% dining cashback
- 20% off on online shopping
- Exclusive rewards from your favourite e-wallets
- Get extra cash with 0% interest rate
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How To Make A Budget Calendar That Will Work For You
- By CompareHero.my
- June 15, 2021
Trying to stay on top of our finances could be a great challenge especially when we’re busy with making ends meet every single day. We simply don’t have the ability to be thinking about everything all at once. Even if we somehow managed to, it’d be extremely tiring to keep that up.
So to prevent things (financial progress) from falling through the cracks during turbulent periods, you have to plan your finances ahead. And a financial calendar can help you achieve that.
Let’s just be honest, just like a daily checklist, having these things on the calendar makes it more likely to get done and less likely to be forgotten about.
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What is a budget calendar?
A budget calendar aims to help you better plan for the foreseeable future. These are money-costing events such as a vacation, a wedding, or a huge purchase. In some sense, a budget calendar is creating a budget on the calendar.
Above what it can do on the surface, which is to help you reduce budget challenges, it can also help you to achieve your financial goals.
Why do you need a budget calendar?
Here are 3 reasons why you need to use a budget calendar:
1. A visual reminder of when your bills are due
Back to the first concept, when we’ve got a lot on our plate, we tend to miss all sorts of things that we’re supposed to do. One of these is payments, which can then lead to all sorts of ramifications such as impacting your credit score.
Reminder
2. Helps you plan ahead
Due to the fact that our pockets have finite depths, we cannot expect ourselves to be able to withdraw huge numbers for that huge purchase within a short period of time. That’s where planning comes in. Knowing how much money you need for those events allows you to be well-prepared for them.
3. Break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle
To be brutally truthful, many of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Not because we want to, but we just aren’t as lucky as some others, and it’s a tough cycle to break. However, what if we can?
Related: 5 Tips To Stop Living Pay Cheque To Pay Cheque
Firstly, a budget calendar forces you to be extremely aware of where your money is going and when it arrives. That’s already one step ahead. Secondly, it acts like a wedding bell that pushes you into adopting a habit of saving. Take that another step further and automate your saving schedule. Spend what is left after saving, not the other way around.
Once you see the money growing, you’ll be even more motivated to stick with it and make even bigger goals.
What to include in your budget calendar?
Of course, it heavily depends on the goals that you’re aiming for, but for a general idea, here are 4 items that you should have in your budget calendar:
- Income: Include your paychecks. Be prepared if you’re planning to switch jobs.
- Payments: Include every kind of payment, especially for debt payments as it’s beneficial for you to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
- Bills: Rent, utilities, Netflix subscription, groceries, entertainment budget
- Savings goals: Write this in a bigger font as a reminder to yourself. We’re all striving towards that end goal and it really does keep us going during tough times.
How to review your financial calendar?
Owing to the fact that our lives are constantly changing, our budget calendar ought to as well. That’s where reviewing your budget calendar and adapting it is key.
How often should you review it?
Once or twice a month is enough. While adapting is crucial, making too many changes will equate to having no strategy for the long run.
Calendar reminder
Set reminders at the end of every month to ping you to review your calendar so that you never forget to check in. Alternatively, use calendar reminders to remind you of how you’re progressing with it. A plan is only as good as the follow-through, so make it your mission to ensure that it becomes a reality.
Budget calendar options
Digital calendar
We all learn and work differently, so naturally, there is no ‘best way’ to set up a budget calendar. And thanks to technology, we’ve got a few more options to choose from.
- Paper planner: Good old fashion paper, what is there to say about it?
- Templates: There are plenty of financial planning templates online now, just google the term ‘budget templates’ and you’ll find plenty. Have it printed and simply fill in the blanks.
- Digital calendar: This is where it gets interesting. Some companies like Long Game and Qapital took the personal finance idea so seriously that they decided to gamify it. It really does make a real difference as it changes the entire dynamics of personal finance from the dry and boring into a fun and exciting endeavour.
Using a budget calendar is not the end-all answer to your financial problems. But it will give you a sense of awareness and responsibility, hence, leverage this approach to stay on top of your finances and achieve your goals.
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5 Bad Habits That Can Cut Into Your Retirement Savings
- By CompareHero.my
- June 14, 2021
Contrary to what the traditional media has fed you, it’s not about how much you’re making, rather, it’s about how you manage it. And how you manage your money eventually turns into a habit. In simple words, if you find yourself with no savings and spending more than you earn, it is more than likely that you’ve adopted some bad financial habits.
Good news, habits can be broken; bad news, breaking them and starting new good habits take time. Breaking bad habits is one of the first steps to take to become financially independent. Not having a solid plan/budget and having bad spending habits can leave you vulnerable to unexpected emergencies and make it tougher during your retirement.
The bottom line is that bad habits need to be broken. But are you aware of what your bad money habits are?
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1. Not saving for retirement
Retirement might seem like a lifetime away, especially for those who are in their 20s. But the longer anybody wait to start preparing for retirement, the more they’ll miss out on the compounded interests. The sooner you start saving, the more money you’re going to have when you finally retire.
The worst-case scenario, if you don’t start saving, is that you’ll have to work a few more years because you simply can’t afford to retire yet. Well, that’s no fun.
Related: To Malaysians, From Malaysians: Do Better For Your Retirement
2. Dipping into your savings
Taking from savings jar
Once you’ve set up your retirement savings account or that you have a plan for it, hands-off. You never want to find yourself snooping around the money you have saved and promising to ‘put it back later.’ If you cannot control this habit of yours, take it out of your hands or look for an accountability buddy.
This rule is exactly the same for an emergency fund: Never touch it unless you’re facing a true disaster. That’s because if you keep dipping into this account, you’ll then build the habit of thinking this is an extra fund instead of it being a retirement account. So put as many barriers as you can to prevent yourself from doing so.
3. Spending as much as you earn
Consistently spending more than you earn is an easy highway to getting into debt. And debt is the worst enemy of building a retirement fund.
The opposite, which is living below your means is powerful. That means for each and every month that you do that, your ability to invest or save becomes bigger and will lead to having a quicker exponential compounded growth.
Living a frugal lifestyle may seem challenging, but you’d be surprised to see how the little details that you cut back on can add up. And you won’t even notice that they’re gone. Don’t underestimate how quickly those RM2 or RM3 candies you bought from the petrol station can amount to.
Related: Money Management: 3 Ways to Control Your Finances
4. Waiting until you have more to invest
Time is your best friend when it comes to long-term investing, that’s owed to the power of compound interest. And contrary to what the boomers on TV are telling you, you don’t need to be a financial expert or have a massive paycheck to get started. You can even do it entirely on your own.
There are a number of online brokers today that you can open an account with as long as you’re able to submit the required documents. On top of that, there are also apps like Raiz that automatically grabs a chunk of your paycheck and invests them for you.
The takeaway is not to wait. If you really are worried about making the wrong investment, start ramping up your financial literacy. The reality is that you won’t be making that much in the first few years anyway so it really doesn’t matter if you’re starting with just a few thousand ringgit.
Related: How Millennials Can Start Investing From As Low As RM100
5. Putting too much money towards a house or a car
Brand new car
Unless these items are generating income for you, they are a liability to you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy a house or a car, because you still need shelter and a means of transport. Rather, it’s that you shouldn’t buy a house or a car that is way over your budget and left with having to pay hefty amounts of instalments every month.
If that’s the case, then having this huge commitment every month will mean that you need to cut back on some other areas. One of which you’ll likely sweep into this category is your savings for retirement. Thus, even though you might be able to fully pay off this loan by the time you retire, you still might not have enough retirement savings.
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5 Financial Mistakes Most Employees Make When Starting A New Job
- By CompareHero.my
- June 11, 2021
It’s easy to get pumped about a new job. After all, it does come with an entirely new set of opportunities and of course, a new paycheck! Perhaps one that is bigger than the one you have had before. That is awesome!
I don’t mean to rain down on your parade but be very careful with that energy because one wrong step and you might quickly find yourself stuck in debt trying to crawl out of the hole.
So before you rush off to lunch or happy hour with your new colleagues, keep in mind that the choices you make today might very well be the reality of your life in the next 5 to 10 years. But here’s the good news: this could be avoided if you take the right precautions just like other financial setbacks. And that starts with knowing what can go wrong.
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1. Immediately making a big purchase
I’m talking about a car or a house that requires maintenance. When you first receive your paycheck you will feel like you’re 10x cooler and richer than before. You might even feel like you don’t know what to do with that money, after all, it’s a new kind of problem.
The issue comes when you go out and make a big purchase immediately, thinking that you have enough to pay the instalments with the extra cash. What follows is that a part of this extra cash is now gone, plus the maintenance, repairs, and petrol will siphon away all the extra income you’ve got. And before you know it, you’re left at the same tight spot as before.
In short, don’t rush out immediately just to make that big purchase. Instead, have at least 3 months of buffer period to think about it.
Related: #BreakingItDown – Don’t Make These 9 Mistakes When Buying A Car
2. Not starting to prepare for emergencies
Emergency box
An increase in your salary may send a signal to your brain saying that because of the increment, you’ll be fine should an emergency occur and that you can easily make up for your retirement fund later. In most cases, this quickly slides into a short-term mentality where you’re only concerned about the day-to-day expenses. This false sense of security will hurt you in the long run.
Fix this by looking at an increment as a way to supercharge your journey to your financial goals. Instead of having to spend 3 years to build that emergency fund, now you might only need 2 years. So once your emergency fund is set aside, you can then use your extra money to support your other goals such as starting a new business or support your other hobbies.
3. Using credit
Again, this goes back to the feeling where you think you have more to spend now. So now that you are receiving a little more money, you might be tempted to spend more money upfront and pay for it later when your new paycheck arrives. However, what all of this is going to do is get you caught up in the web of credit card companies.
Related: When Is A Debit Card More Dangerous Than A Credit Card?
If you can make sure that you will pay off this bill within the same period, then, by all means, use credit as it offers more safety than debit and some rewards to go along.
Another perspective to consider is that because you’re having a bigger paycheck, just wait until you get the money. You don’t have to rush it because you can save up much quicker now.
4. Ignoring your budget
This goes for both if you’re getting a raise or a pay cut. Make sure that you’re adjusting your budget to account for the changes in your income. Not just that, take the time to also look into how much your monthly expenses are (commuting, food expenses, or even a wardrobe change).
Ideally, you want to account for all the changes so that you have an idea of where you can reduce some of the expenses. It’s a matter of optimising it for your budget calendar.
5. Forgetting about the taxes
Planning for taxes
Nobody wants to hear this but more money coming in means more money going back to the government. It’s important to have an estimation as to how much more taxes you will be paying, especially if you enter a new tax bracket. Avoid surprises, they don’t bond well with financial planning.
This will help you be more aware of how much to set aside each month for tax purposes instead of having to worry about it only when tax season comes. Then according to this, you need to once again, adjust your budget. These are the items that you cannot escape so make sure that you’ve considered them before going on a splurge.
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5 Practical Tips For Building Up Your Savings To Launch Your Small Business
- By CompareHero.my
- June 10, 2021
We live in an era where most entrepreneurs assume that you have to take out a huge loan and go into debt if you want to make your business idea a reality. One of the biggest reasons for this is that we tend to assume starting a business requires a huge amount of money.
However, the reality is that this does not have to be the case. You can start a business with just a minimal amount in your bank and expand later on. Or the alternative would be to have enough saved so that you don’t have to take out a loan to cover the startup cost.
Different industries and different people might require a different set of cash flowing a business, but regardless, it is always good to avoid debt on the front end of your venture. To help you get to that point, here are 5 practical tips to build up your savings to launch your own small business:
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1. Figure out where your money is going
Roof leakage
The very first step to better wealth management is to know where your money is going. There are apps such as Spendee and Expensify which helps you do this exact thing and categorises it for you.
What this does is that it will give you an overview of where you’re spending more than you should. Once you have this picture, you will be able to gauge the areas on which you can cut back on. For instance, if you’re spending RM300 per week just eating out, that will tell you that you should lower the frequency of doing that. What is being saved here will then go into your business fund.
Related: 7 Budgeting Management Apps That Can Help You Track Your Expenses For Free
2. Reduce the “fixed expenses”
Your fixed expenses are the things that you pay the same amount for every single month. For example, your Netflix subscription, Spotify, a club membership, maybe even your cell phone plan or Internet. What is not included, however, is your utility bills and credit card rates.
If we’re being honest, we don’t really have the time to enjoy that many subscriptions, especially with our busy lives and the fact that there are other free alternatives. That’s the first way of lowering it—unsubscribing to the ones you don’t use. The other way is to find another company that offers the same product and switch over. You might be surprised how fast these little differences can add up.
Related: 11 Practical Hacks To Reduce Your Financial Burden And Stress
3. Automate your savings
Open up a savings account solely dedicated to storing your funds for your startup and de-link it from your other accounts so that you’re not tempted to dip into this fund. Then, set up an automatic transfer to this account every time you get paid. If you want to take this a step further, look for those saving schemes that do not allow you to withdraw the money once it’s in the account.
Using automation or budget management apps take a lot of the annoying work out of your hands and keeps your itchy hands away from sabotaging your own finances. It is an amazing way to save for your financial goals even if you’re not starting a business.
4. Cut discretionary spending
There are only a handful of strategies to use when it comes to trying to build a fund on a limited income. One of them is to slash your discretionary income and direct that money towards this specific fund. Identify the non-essentials you can spend less on them.
Not just discretionary spending, there is also a thing called discretionary income. It might come in the form of work bonuses, tax refunds, or even cash gifts. Don’t spend them straight away, instead, send them directly to your business fund account. You didn’t need this extra money to start with anyway so you might as well save it.
5. Save with a goal
Goalpost
Here are 5 reasons why you should save with a goal:
- Allows you to create a realistic plan
- Allows you to track progress
- Forces you to prioritize
- Create accountability
- Give you a reason to celebrate
Maybe you want to get out of debt. Maybe you want to retire at 50 to work on your passion projects. Maybe you want to stash some more money onto your emergency fund. Or maybe you want to start that business idea of yours. Every action starts with a goal. Let that goal give you a direction and a sense of purpose for what you’re doing.
And once you’ve reached your goals, allow yourself to celebrate because you deserve it!
Related: How Much Should You Have In Savings by The Age of 30?
