Master Your Money: 5 Simple Steps for Financial Health

Master Your Money: 5 Simple Steps for Financial Health

A close friend recently reminded me about what happened to Malaysian salaries during 2020.

Do you remember what happened in 2020?

According to DOSM, the median monthly salaries and wages of Malaysian employees fell by 15.6% in 2020, from RM2,442 in 2019 to RM2,062. It was a huge drop.

For household income, the median also fell, from RM5,873 in 2019 to RM5,209 in 2020, a decline of 11.3%.

If you want to know what happened, I wrote about it here:

Salary is down by 15.6%, what happened?

But honestly, it has already happened.

So, perhaps we should not talk too much about what happened.

Let’s focus on what we can do instead, okay?

Because whether we are single, married, have a small family or have a big family, personal finance matters.

And I would say something slightly different from the usual advice.

People always say these are things we do for the future.

I say:

These are things we need to do every day.

The future is just too far away.

#1 – HAVE A BUDGET

First question.

Do we actually know how much we earn every month? (Sometimes, we may forget, especially at the start of the month when we really do have a lot of money…)

Second question.

Do we know how much we spend every month? (Haha. Frankly, I can only know when I sit down and count…)

Third question.

Do we know how much is left? (Argh… something we hate to look at, right?)

And perhaps the most important question:

Were all those expenses necessary? (I blame myself on this as well)

Or did we simply want to “treat ourselves better”?

There are two things important about having a budget.

Have one.

And follow one.

If we don’t know, we cannot do.

If we know but don’t follow it, then we have come back to square one.

A budget is not meant to make life miserable.

It is supposed to tell us where our money is going.

And if we don’t control our money, something else will.

Usually, our lifestyle.

#2 – ARE WE OVER-SPENDING?

This is probably where things get interesting.

Do we really need to spend RM30 every morning on breakfast and coffee?

Or can we spend less?

Just this morning, I spent RM22.50 on breakfast for four people.

Three roti telur at RM3 each and four roti canai at RM1.50 each. Plus 3 teh tarik at RM2.50 per cup.

That’s it.

Of course, I am not recommending everyone eat roti canai every morning. Haha.

The point is simply this:

There are usually cheaper choices available.

And the same applies to bigger expenses.

Do we really need a new car?

Do we really need a new Japanese-branded car?

Is buying a second-hand car really “no class”?

If we can afford a RM75,000 car, perhaps we can buy a RM50,000 car instead?

If we can afford RM50,000, perhaps a RM30,000 car could also do the job?

This is not about being cheap.

This is budgeting.

We spend less than what we can afford so that the difference can become savings.

And those savings can eventually become investments.

Malaysia’s median formal-sector monthly wage was RM3,167 in December 2025. At the same time, 26.6% of formal employees earned below RM2,000.

When a large part of the workforce is not earning a very high income, every ringgit becomes more important.

So yes, spending wisely matters.

#3 – GET RID OF BAD DEBT

Debt is not automatically bad.

A housing loan can help us own a home. (without one, get ready to pay rental forever; forever in-debt every month)

A business loan can help us build a business.

But expensive consumer debt can become a serious problem.

Especially credit-card debt.

Why?

Because interest can compound against us.

We buy something today.

We pay later.

Then we pay interest.

Then we need more income to pay for yesterday’s spending.

Not ideal.

So have a debt repayment plan.

If there is extra money from an annual bonus, don’t automatically think:

“New phone!”

“New television!”

“New holiday!”

Maybe some of it should go towards reducing expensive debt.

The faster we eliminate bad debt, the more disposable income we create.

And that money can then be redirected towards savings and investments.

#4 – SAVE AND INVEST

This is where I believe savings becomes the foundation for everything else.

Suppose we save just RM3 a day.

That’s roughly RM90 a month.

RM1,080 a year.

Do it consistently and it becomes meaningful.

And if we can save RM100 a month, that’s RM1,200 a year.

The magic happens when we invest consistently over a long period.

For example, RM100 invested every month for 20 years means RM24,000 of our own contributions before considering investment returns.

And this is why starting early matters.

EPF is one possible part of that long-term plan. For 2025, EPF declared a 6.15% dividend for both Simpanan Konvensional and Simpanan Shariah. But please don’t assume 6.15% every year. Returns can change.

Bank Negara Malaysia’s 2024 financial capability survey also found that only 58% of Malaysians actively save for the future, while many could not withstand a RM1,000 emergency.

So saving is not just about becoming rich.

It is also about becoming less financially fragile.

And once we have savings, we can start thinking about investments.

Unit trusts.

Bonds.

Shares.

EPF voluntary contributions.

Fixed deposits.

Property.

There are many choices.

But the important thing is to understand what we are investing in, the risk involved and whether it fits our own financial situation.

#5 – PROTECT WHAT WE HAVE BUILT

Finally, protection.

We buy insurance or takaful because we hope not to use it.

That’s the whole point.

If something unfortunate happens, we don’t want years of savings and investments to disappear overnight.

Medical expenses can be huge. (I know very well because my appendicitis ops was done in Singapore!)

A serious illness can affect income.

A premature death can leave dependants with expenses and loans.

So look at what protection you already have.

What does your employer provide?

What does your existing medical policy cover?

What happens to your family if your income suddenly disappears?

Don’t duplicate coverage unnecessarily.

But don’t assume your employer’s coverage is enough forever either.

Our financial needs change as we move from being single, to married, to having children and eventually preparing for retirement.

SO, WHAT IS PERSONAL FINANCE REALLY ABOUT?

Earn more. Spend less. Control debt.

Save. Invest. Protect.

Simple? Yes.

Easy? Not always.

And here’s something I have learned.

Personal finance is not really about how much we earn.

It is about what we do with what we earn.

We can earn RM10,000 and spend RM10,000.

Or we can earn RM5,000 and still make sure some money is saved and invested every month.

Of course, earning more helps.

But if we don’t control our spending, higher income can simply give us a more expensive lifestyle.

And yes, property can be part of the bigger picture too. But property should be one part of our financial plan, not the entire plan. We still need savings, investments, retirement funds and protection.

Because at the end of the day, money is not enough if we don’t know what to do with it.

Happy planning!

Stay updated at all time for free. Sign up for daily investment news updates (FREE since Nov 2013 and FOREVER). 

Please LIKE kopiandproperty.com FB page to get daily updates about the property market beyond kopiandproperty.com articles.

Sources

• Original article: Money Not Enough? 5 Critical Personal Finance To-Dos – kopiandproperty.com
• Historical article: Salary is down by 15.6%, what happened?
• DOSM – Salaries & Wages Statistics 2021
• DOSM – Household Income Estimates and Incidence of Poverty Report 2020
• DOSM – Employee Wages Statistics, Formal Sector Q4 2025
• Bank Negara Malaysia – Fourth National Financial Literacy Symposium
• EPF – 2025 Dividend Announcement