Whenever mom reminds me to manage my finance well now that I'm working professionally, I always jokingly answer "I know, I know. I'm a Finance graduate, remember?". ㅋㅋㅋ
As much as it's true that I'm indeed a Finance graduate from the dearly missed Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), the truth is, it doesn't matter what major someone took in university, or whether or not someone has graduated from any tertiary institution. We ALL need a proper personal financial plan. By planning and managing our finance well, we can rest assure that our daily necessities will be attainable and accessible. Once we get what we need, we can touch on what we want or desire.
There's no denying that the cost of living is getting higher and our liabilities can easily overshadow our assets these days. Therefore, it's not a petty matter at all when we talk about personal financial management.
I'm aware that every individual has his or her own way or method. As long as your way works fine for your lifestyle, by all means, go for it.
Here's my way of managing my personal finance.
First, I set up my principle, which outlines my focus when it comes to managing my own finance. My principle is to make sure that I abide by these two 'rules' - (i) to keep my priorities straight, and (ii) to practise some discipline in my spending.
If I ever feel lost, unsure, or tempted, I take a moment to think about those two 'rules'.
So, every month when I receive my salary, I utilise it in a pre-determined flow.
The flow may slightly change in the future as my circumstances may evolve, but for now, here's the flow.
(1) Receive salary -- (2) Pay mandatory expenses -- (3) Save -- (4) Buy gifts for family and pets -- (5) Do charity -- (6) Reward myself
(1) Receive salary
- I won't specify exactly how much I get paid per month, but I'll just state that my starting basic salary as an employee of an international financial institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is somewhere in between MYR 2,000 to 3,000 per month.
- Every month, a tiny percentage of my salary automatically goes to my Employee Pension Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) fund.
(2) Pay mandatory expenses
- My mandatory monthly expenses include rental (RM450, combined with utilities and residential association), public transportation (RM50 reload of transportation card), daily meals (RM450, including occasional purchase of Gloria Jean's coffee, or Starbucks coffee, or Secret Recipe desserts), mobile phone reload (RM60 for normal calling, texting, and mobile internet subscription) grocery shopping (RM150, usually at ISETAN Food Market or 99 Speedmart), and healthcare/ beauty shopping (RM100, usually at Watson's).
(3) Save
- For now, I allocate at least RM100 for my bank's saving account.
- I allocate another RM150 for my Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB) account, a trust fund for Bumiputra Malaysians.
(4) Buy gifts for family and pets
- Mom always tells me to focus on myself, especially since I'm rather new at this whole working adult notion, but every now and then, I like to get a little something for those back home when I have the chance.
- Plus, it helps to feed my burning passion for shopping.
(5) Do charity
- I believe in "paying it forward", where we do something nice for others, not because we feel obliged to, but because we simply want to.
- As of now, I'm particularly supporting World Vision (www.worldvision.com.my) through their Sponsor A Child programme and Education fund.
- I also support Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (www.facebook.com/MalaysianDogsDeserveBetter).
(6) Reward myself
- Needless to say, this is my favourite part. However, I always make sure that it's the LAST one in line. This way, I can truly enjoy every moment without feeling uncertain or guilty.
- My favourite ways of rewarding myself include shopping for outfits, watching movies at the cinema, café-hopping, getting my hair treated or done at the salon, or going for a karaoke session. (I have more care-free and fun activities to add on the list, to be frank. LOL)
- Aside from the above-listed activities, I also reward myself by going for a trip. This requires a mid-or-long term kind of planning, especially for overseas destination.
So, there you go!
I shall monitor and enhance my personal financial management as time goes by because I want to have a balance between being stable and flexible.
More than anything, I really really really hope that everyone realises the need to properly manage one's finance, regardless of how much we earn and how many dependents we have. Work something out and don't stress out. Let's not take this lightly, alright?
As much as it's true that I'm indeed a Finance graduate from the dearly missed Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), the truth is, it doesn't matter what major someone took in university, or whether or not someone has graduated from any tertiary institution. We ALL need a proper personal financial plan. By planning and managing our finance well, we can rest assure that our daily necessities will be attainable and accessible. Once we get what we need, we can touch on what we want or desire.
There's no denying that the cost of living is getting higher and our liabilities can easily overshadow our assets these days. Therefore, it's not a petty matter at all when we talk about personal financial management.
I'm aware that every individual has his or her own way or method. As long as your way works fine for your lifestyle, by all means, go for it.
Here's my way of managing my personal finance.
First, I set up my principle, which outlines my focus when it comes to managing my own finance. My principle is to make sure that I abide by these two 'rules' - (i) to keep my priorities straight, and (ii) to practise some discipline in my spending.
If I ever feel lost, unsure, or tempted, I take a moment to think about those two 'rules'.
So, every month when I receive my salary, I utilise it in a pre-determined flow.
The flow may slightly change in the future as my circumstances may evolve, but for now, here's the flow.
(1) Receive salary -- (2) Pay mandatory expenses -- (3) Save -- (4) Buy gifts for family and pets -- (5) Do charity -- (6) Reward myself
(1) Receive salary
- I won't specify exactly how much I get paid per month, but I'll just state that my starting basic salary as an employee of an international financial institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is somewhere in between MYR 2,000 to 3,000 per month.
- Every month, a tiny percentage of my salary automatically goes to my Employee Pension Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) fund.
(2) Pay mandatory expenses
- My mandatory monthly expenses include rental (RM450, combined with utilities and residential association), public transportation (RM50 reload of transportation card), daily meals (RM450, including occasional purchase of Gloria Jean's coffee, or Starbucks coffee, or Secret Recipe desserts), mobile phone reload (RM60 for normal calling, texting, and mobile internet subscription) grocery shopping (RM150, usually at ISETAN Food Market or 99 Speedmart), and healthcare/ beauty shopping (RM100, usually at Watson's).
(3) Save
- For now, I allocate at least RM100 for my bank's saving account.
- I allocate another RM150 for my Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB) account, a trust fund for Bumiputra Malaysians.
(4) Buy gifts for family and pets
- Mom always tells me to focus on myself, especially since I'm rather new at this whole working adult notion, but every now and then, I like to get a little something for those back home when I have the chance.
- Plus, it helps to feed my burning passion for shopping.
(5) Do charity
- I believe in "paying it forward", where we do something nice for others, not because we feel obliged to, but because we simply want to.
- As of now, I'm particularly supporting World Vision (www.worldvision.com.my) through their Sponsor A Child programme and Education fund.
- I also support Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (www.facebook.com/MalaysianDogsDeserveBetter).
(6) Reward myself
- Needless to say, this is my favourite part. However, I always make sure that it's the LAST one in line. This way, I can truly enjoy every moment without feeling uncertain or guilty.
- My favourite ways of rewarding myself include shopping for outfits, watching movies at the cinema, café-hopping, getting my hair treated or done at the salon, or going for a karaoke session. (I have more care-free and fun activities to add on the list, to be frank. LOL)
- Aside from the above-listed activities, I also reward myself by going for a trip. This requires a mid-or-long term kind of planning, especially for overseas destination.
So, there you go!
I shall monitor and enhance my personal financial management as time goes by because I want to have a balance between being stable and flexible.
More than anything, I really really really hope that everyone realises the need to properly manage one's finance, regardless of how much we earn and how many dependents we have. Work something out and don't stress out. Let's not take this lightly, alright?
posted from Bloggeroid
