Archive - 25 September 2014

With the latest launch of the highly anticipated iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Internet has been flooded with advice on how you can break your child’s piggy bank or sell a kidney, in order to buy one!

As the release date for Malaysia has not been announced by Apple yet, the nearest country that has iPhone available is Singapore. With the cheapest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are priced at SG$988 (about RM2,500) for iPhone 6, and SG$1,148 (about RM2,900) for the Plus, will you consider buying one?

Even without the 7% goods and services tax (GST) in Singapore, the prices are:

iPhone 6

• 16GB: SG$919, about RM2,331

• 64GB: SG$1,086, about RM2,755

• 128GB: SG$1,198, about RM3,039

• 16GB: SG$1,086, about RM2,755

• 64GB: SG$1,198, about RM3,039

• 128GB: SG$1,347, about RM3,418

Most die-hard iPhone fans would probably sacrifice a month’s salary (and probably their kidneys) just to get their hands on the coveted smartphone. It is not just a phone – but a statement for most. However, before you blow your hard-earned money on a 128GB iPhone 6 Plus, here are six other options you can put that money into good use and expect greater return!

1) Clear your credit debt

If you have an outstanding credit card debt of about RM3,000, you really should clear it as soon as possible. Here’s how much you can stand to save if you pay off your debt instead of buying an iPhone 6 Plus, and paying in instalments over six months!

If you use the RM3,300 to pay off your credit card debt instead of buying an iPhone 6 Plus, you would save RM127! Money saved is money earned!

2) Put that money in a Fixed Deposit account

You don’t have to spend all RM3,000 on a smartphone. You can put it in a Fixed Deposit account for a year instead of spending on a phone that depreciates in value every month.

* Based on Bank Rakyat’s Fixed Deposit rate.
If you put the RM3,000 in a Fixed Deposit account at a good rate, instead of buying an iPhone 6,

you could earn RM117 after a year!

3) Invest in unit trust funds

As unit trust investment is usually recommended for long-term investment, you can consider putting the money in a fund for an extended period. Here is how much you can potentially gain by putting RM3,000 in a fund for five years.

Example: Kenanga Growth Fund

*The performance figures in the table above are calculated using bid-to-bid prices provided by Fundsupermart.com.my,
with any income or dividends reinvested. These are historical rates of return.

Total return = RM5,338.38 – RM3,000 = RM2,338.38

Who doesn’t want a cool RM2,338.38 (that’s almost double of your initial capital) by just leaving your money in an investment? That is what you could potentially gain from putting your RM3,000 in unit trust after five years. Even if you left it in there for just six months you’d make a significant gain on your investment.

4) Invest in real estate

Before you scoff at the idea of buying real estate with just RM3,000– you can still invest in properties through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Here’s how much you can potentially gain if you do just that.

For example, if an investor invested RM3,000 on Sunway REITs in 2012, he or she would have gained this much:

That’s almost half a thousand you can potentially gain if you put that money in REITs instead of buying an iPhone 6.

5) Spend it on bling

No, we don’t mean buying yourself tons of jewellery with that money. However, you should use the money that you are not spending on an iPhone to invest in gold.

Gold investment accounts are the latest trends among investors as you can purchase it from banks without the hassle and risk of actually having the physical gold in hand.

This is a pretty simple investment, where to gain a return, you have to sell the gold at a higher price than you bought it from.

If you have bought your gold from Maybank Gold Investment Account back in June 2013 at RM142.81 per gram, and sell it a month later, here’s how much you could have gained:

In just slightly more than a month, you would have made RM340 with gold investment!

6) Buy some stocks

Share trading is the riskiest investment in this list due to its volatility. However, the chances of gaining a return is still better than buying an iPhone 6, which is surely heading to depreciation before the phone even reaches your hand.

If invested wisely, shares can be a lucrative investment option. Here is an example of how much you can potentially gain, if bought and sold at the right time:

In just eight months, you would have made RM450 if you have invested RM3,000 in Tropicana stocks earlier this year.

If you were not particularly fond of spending money and you chose to save it, the best way is to invest it. With the above short to medium term investments listed above, you can easily grow the RM3,000 and see handsome return very soon.