M'sians find it harder to save money every month - survey

The number of Malaysians who said they are unable to save money every month increased by two percentage points this year to 21 percent compared to 19 percent last year, according to the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS).

RinggitPlus co-founder and director Hann Liew said the credit crunch situation was due to the pandemic and economic situation.

“About 21 percent of Malaysians told us they cannot save a single cent each month, increasing from 19 percent of respondents last year.

“People who could save less than RM500 or do not manage to save each month was 56 percent this year versus 49 percent last year, and those who could save RM1,500 or more each month was 15 percent versus 20 per cent last year.

“In summary, saving has been more difficult than ever before and we can tie this to the pandemic and the economic situation,” he said at the virtual RMFLS 2021 event today.

The RMFLS 2021 survey involved 3,000 respondents across all income groups in Malaysia.

EPF savings

In addition, Hann said the survey also recorded a huge percentage drop in people who believe their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings are enough for retirement.

“Some 15 percent of our respondents this year said they believe that their EPF savings are enough for retirement versus 30 percent last year - this is a whopping decrease of half the people that told us.

“Some 85 percent of respondents think their EPF savings alone may not be sufficient for retirement and almost half of them - 45 percent - said they have not started any retirement planning - this is an equally worrying metric. Similar to last year, the differences are far bigger than we expected,” he added.

The survey also stated that 52 percent of respondents said they cannot survive more than three months if they lose their job; 44 percent spend exactly or more than what they earn, and 76 percent believe they are in control of their money.

“This year, building an emergency fund was the top reason Malaysians saved money,” he said, adding that the pandemic has been and remains a huge wake-up call to Malaysians and this is exacerbated by previous poor financial habits around saving and spending.

Finance management tools 

Hence, to find a solution for them, he said RinggitPlus has been working with its partners to introduce RinggitPlus Financial Healthcheck and RinggitPlus Financial Planning Services to help people smoothen their financial management.

“RinggitPlus Financial Healthcheck is a checking tool that checks your financial health across cash flow, debt management, insurance, and wealth management.

“And our second product - RinggitPlus Financial Planner - is our digital one-on-one financial planning service where you can get a certified licensed expert directly online without having to go anywhere,” he added.

- Bernama 

Poverty forum: Affordable housing should be seen as human right

'Don't turn a blind eye to the issue of period poverty'

Hidden riches of world leaders, billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak

12MP: Special unit to be formed to address poverty, income gaps - PM

YOURSAY | MPs, ministers making big bucks a travesty of justice

YOURSAY | Malaysians forget too quickly, forgive too easily