TIPS TO SURVIVE RISING COST OF LIVING

A few tips to survive in face of sharp increase in cost of living. The magic word is "BUDGET". That is to budget our spending and avoid over-spending, which will send us into a spiral of increasing personal debt.

Tip 1# Set a spending limit.
If you earn fixed salary then budget for the whole year base on your total take home pay for the year. Simply divide your yearly total income by 12 months, and deduct for all fixed expenses (e.g. rent, loans), electric bills, water bills, payment to parents, food, petrol, children education expenses, spouse's expenses, etc. What you have left is your spending limit and you can divide it by 12 months. You only have that much to spend for that month and any overspending will have to be deducted from next month's allowance. Remember to set aside a sum for religious and end of the year celebrations.

Tips 2# Do not charge to your credit card unless absolutely necessary.
Carry cash that is just enough for your shopping. Settle your credit card payment promptly. Remember credit card companies charge very high interest (18%+ per annum).

Tip 3# List out all your expenditure to the sen and go through the list to see where you can save and defer payments ( loans can be re-negotiated to increase the payment period).

Tips 4# Always plan your shopping and not to fall prey to sales gimmicks.
Check yourself by asking if the items your are about to purchase is a necessity or not. Can you live without it? Don't go blindly for branded goods. Look for cheaper products that is just as good. Example, mineral water comes from the same source but marketted under different brand names with different price tags.

Tip 5# Pay debts on time and avoid penalty for late payment. Have a checklist of all must-pay debts and their last day for payment and enter into your handphone/PDA with alarms to remind you a few days before the day.

Tip 6# Pack your lunch to office. It is not macho? Forget your ego and think of the amount of saving you will make.. Cut down on the 'teh tarik' sessions after office. You can save hundreds of ringgit monthly.

Tip 7# Share newspapers and magazines. Exchange information with your office workers and find out who is buying the same papers you read everyday. Buy/sell n/papers to friends after you have read it. Buy secondhand books/magazines for your reading pleasure.

Tip 8# Save petrol if you travel a lot. Switch off the air acconditioner if the day is cool especially at night. Do not stress out your car engine, drive at the engine's economical output. Forget the "kiasu" syndrome. I don't recommend taking public transportation. Not until it is totally revamp and upgraded to be reliable and cover most destinations.

Tip 9# Cut out the bad habits. Smoking and drinking high sugar level carbonated drinks will save you medical expenditure later.
For those who drink alcohol, try to reduce the night outs and stay at home or take up bowling or fishing. Save thousands of ringgit and save your health too.

Tip 10# IF you are thinking of buying a new car, consider the expenses you have to spend in mantaining the car. For those who are driving 'gas guzzlers', maybe you might want to think about changing it for a more economical version and not only save yourself the ringgits but also do our enviroment a favour.

Tip 11# If you have a plot of land that is pushing lalang, maybe you can rent it out for agricultural production or for a recycle waste centre. Many loans are available for those interested in going into the agriculture business. Joint venture will be less of a financial burden.

Tip 12# Remember your health is your wealth. It is good to invest in an insurance to see you through if you should fall sick. Any financial burden on your family can cause great hardship and even cause your children to drop out from college/university.

Tip 13# Look at ways to increase your income. Examples, selling unwanted items (antiques, hand crafts, old magazines/textbooks, unwanted clothes and furniture, etc.) and teaching partime (computer repair, software). Try working from home to save transportation cost.

Tips14# Do NOT take loans from Alongs to solve your financial problems. If you must, go to the banks which give loans for such financial situations.

Note: The Tips given is in good faith and the blogger bear no malice and absolve himself from all consequences that may arise from these tips.