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<h2>When it comes to savings, the general consensus is that you should set money aside and do your best to never touch it</h2>
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<p>In fact, there is a plethora of articles, self-help books, and videos out there that teach you how to build up your savings and avoid dipping into it. Some common tips you&#8217;ll come across include:</p>
<p>&#8211; Setting up a separate bank account for your savings<br />&#8211; Setting up an emergency fund for unexpected expenses<br />&#8211; Setting up a sinking fund for expected expenses (such as gifts, car maintenance, etc)<br />&#8211; Spending only after you save<br />&#8211; Adjusting your budget and cutting expenses<br />&#8211; Picking up side hustles to earn more money</p>
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<p>                <small class="img-credit">Image via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vecteezy.com/photo/24594777-saving-money-investment-for-future-female-woman-hands-holding-pink-piggy-bank-and-putting-money-coin-saving-investment-budget-business-wealth-retirement-financial-money-banking-concept" rel="noopener">Iuliia Zavalishina/Vecteezy</a></small>
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<h2>The concept of &#8216;not touching your savings&#8217; was precisely what I adhered to and earnestly tried to follow during the first few years of my career.</p>
<p>And it worked&#8230; Until it didn&#8217;t.</h2>
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<p>Here&#8217;s the thing: During the first few years I started working, despite earning less, I still managed to save RM100 to RM200 each month, and even up to RM500 in a good month.</p>
<p>I even began employing the &#8216;save before you spend&#8217; method, setting up auto-billing to save a portion of my salary whenever it came in.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that as I progressed in my career, and my salary increased, so did my living expenses. It&#8217;s not like I was splurging on branded items or RM100 meals all the time, but having friends (and a partner) just meant that there were more things to spend on, and I was fine with that.</p>
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<h2>As I grew older, I also began to realise there was a lot more adulting that needed to be done — and most of these things cost money</h2>
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<p>Whether it was taking a flight back to Penang to see family every other month (RM200), attending friends&#8217; weddings (RM150 per wedding), or paying for car insurance and road tax (RM1,000), there were some months when there just wasn&#8217;t enough money to save, no matter how hard I budgeted.</p>
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<p>By then, I had already accumulated a comfortable safety net, or emergency fund, or whatever you want to call it. But I just felt like it was money I should never have to touch.</p>
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<h2>The kicker came when I went through three major life changes back to back: Getting married, buying a house, and having a kid</h2>
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<p>At each phase, I would still try my very best to budget and track my monthly expenditure meticulously. The only problem was that whenever there was an unforeseen expense, or a meal I had while eating out with friends, I&#8217;d feel super agitated because I felt I was &#8220;overspending&#8221;.</p>
<p>Naturally, I ended up having to dip into my savings and would often feel unhappy.</p>
<p>But then, a very wise person (a.k.a. the wife) one day asked me, <b>&#8220;What&#8217;s the point of you having savings anyway? Isn&#8217;t it so that you have money saved up for unforeseen occasions like this?&#8221;</p>
<p></b>That&#8217;s when my perspective towards savings started to shift, and I became a little more okay to dip into my savings. (But before you overreact, I have an explanation below)<b><br /></b></p>
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<h2>First of all, I&#8217;m not saying you should be dipping into your savings for whatever you want or splurging all the time just because you can</h2>
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<p>Behaving like this is dumb, and you&#8217;ll end up not having anything saved up for when you really need it.</p>
<p>But what I am saying is that it&#8217;s okay to dip into your savings for specific occasions or seasons of your life. And however much you want to dip into is entirely based on what&#8217;s important to you.</p>
<p>For instance, nowadays, I wouldn&#8217;t mind forking out RM500 on a big family dinner to celebrate a parent&#8217;s birthday or a family member&#8217;s milestone because, family is important to me. Or, if my wife and I need to dip into our savings every month to pay for our kid&#8217;s daycare — we&#8217;d do it because it gives us the time and space for our careers, which is something we both value.</p>
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<p>                <small class="img-credit">Image via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-paying-at-a-counter-using-debit-card-6605257/" rel="noopener">Kampus Production/Pexels</a></small>
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<h2>One thing that has helped me come to terms with &#8216;touching my savings&#8217; is being intentional about what I&#8217;m using the money for</h2>
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<p>Back to the example of daycare, what I did was to take out a sum from my savings and say, &#8220;This is the amount I&#8217;m allocating for the year<b> towards this specific purpose</b>&#8220;, and I was okay with it.</p>
<p>Another thing that shifted my perspective was <b>understanding that everything is for a season</b>. I know that I won&#8217;t be earning the same salary forever, and I know that I won&#8217;t be paying for daycare forever either. Recognising that there are seasons that are more financially demanding than others has taught me to be kinder to myself.</p>
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<h2>Of course, the end goal is to be able to save more every month and afford to spend on things I want without feeling guilty</h2>
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<p>But along the way, I&#8217;ve come to realise that it&#8217;s okay if I have to use some of my savings once in a while or for a season.</p>
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<h2>Learn how to grow your money on SAYS!</h2>
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<h2>For more #money stories:</h2>
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<p>It could take up to five years to go through the entire process.</p>
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<h6><a href="https://says.com/my/p/lifestyle/9-simple-ways-to-invest-rm1-000-in-malaysia-2024" class="ga-curator-related">&#8220;So You Have RM1,000&#8221; — Here&#8217;s A Simple Guide On How To Start Investing In Malaysia</a></h6>
<p>There&#8217;s actually a lot you can do with RM1,000 in Malaysia.</p>
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"Never Touch Your Savings" — Here's Why I Disagree With This Financial Advice

“Never Touch Your Savings” — Here’s Why I Disagree With This Financial Advice

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<h2>Do you know how much you actually spend on food every month?</h2>
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<p>Chances are, you don&#8217;t really keep track. And chances are, you probably spend more on food than you think you do! :O</p>
<p>The Statistics Department&#8217;s Income, Expenditure, Poverty and Inequality 2022 report showed that Malaysian households spent an average of RM732 per month at restaurants and cafés, as well as RM58 at canteens and cafeterias, as reported by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/03/interactive-heres-how-we-spent-our-money-last-year">The Star</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, the number for household spending shoots up in states like Penang (RM1,090), Selangor (RM1,313), and Kuala Lumpur (RM1,381).</p>
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<h2>But don&#8217;t worry! Come tell us your <em>chap fan</em> order, and we&#8217;ll help you <em>agak</em> (estimate) how much you actually spend on food every month.</h2>
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<h2>So, do you feel like you&#8217;re overspending on food? :O</p>
<p>Check out how to start making a monthly budget:</h2>
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<p>Budgets are guidelines of how to spend our hard-earned money. Done right, it&#8217;s the most powerful system I know for bringing people to financial security.</p>
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<h2>Learn how to grow your money on SAYS!</h2>
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<h2>For more #money stories:</h2>
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[QUIZ] Lai, Choose Your 'Chap Fan' Dishes & We Guess How Much You Spend On Food Each Month

[QUIZ] Lai, Choose Your ‘Chap Fan’ Dishes & We Guess How Much You Spend On Food Each Month

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<h2>One topic we don&#8217;t talk about much in Malaysia is estate planning or will writing. However, it&#8217;s something important that Malaysians should become more aware of.</p>
<p>So, what happens if a loved one dies without a will — how do family members claim money and assets of the diseased?</h2>
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<p>When someone passes away without a will, it can take up to five years for their assets to be properly passed on to their family members. Without a will or estate planning, disputes can also arise, delaying the process. Lastly, if the deceased did not inform anyone about their possessions, the beneficiaries may not even know it exists.</p>
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<h2>Here&#8217;s a closer look at what happens to a person&#8217;s estates when he or she passes away without a will in Malaysia:</h2>
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<p>First of all, the death will be classified as &#8216;intestate&#8217;, a.k.a. death without leaving a will or instructions on estate distribution — this applies to savings in bank accounts, properties, investments, and other assets.</p>
<p>Next, depending on whether you&#8217;re a Muslim or non-Muslim, intestacy (inheritance) laws will determine how your estates are distributed.</p>
<p>However, this does not include Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or insurance payouts, as nominees for those would have been chosen. That&#8217;s why EPF members are encouraged to appoint a Nominee to facilitate and expedite the administration of EPF savings by the appointed Nominee after their demise.</p>
<p>For nomination made by Muslim members, the EPF savings will be administered and distributed according to Faraid Law. An EPF Nominee will be the Executor or Administrator of the said savings, and the same goes for Takaful. For nominations made by non-Muslim members, the savings will be administered and distributed according to the member’s instruction.</p>
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<h2>For Muslims:</h2>
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<p><p>Surviving family members will need to apply for Faraid Certificate from the Shariah Court. Next, all rightful Heirs must mutually agree to appoint the same Administrator. The estates will be distributed based on Shariah law — it will be given to Baitulmal (Islamic financial institution) if there are no surviving family members or no one claims the estates.</p>
<p>Beneficiaries have to apply for a Letter of Administration before the estates are distributed. The letter allows the person named to administer the estate of a deceased who has died without leaving a valid will.</p>
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<p>Surviving family members will need to appoint an Administrator. Similarly, beneficiaries need to apply for a Letter of Administration before the estates are distributed.</p>
<p>Upon which, the estates will then be distributed to the beneficiaries based on Distribution Act 1958 after deducting the funeral expenses and outstanding debts.</p>
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<p>On top of that, for both Muslims and Non-Muslims, the Administrator will need to find two sureties, whose role is to guarantee the same value of assets and ensure the estates are properly distributed. However, no sureties are needed if AmanahRaya is appointed as the Administrator for estates with a gross value of RM600,000 or below.</p>
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<h2>In Malaysia, three institutions have the power to issue the Letter of Administration: AmanahRaya, the Small Estate Distribution Unit of the Department of the Director-General of Lands and Mines, and the High Court (Civil)</h2>
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<p>AmanahRaya, a premier trustee company wholly-owned by the government of Malaysia, can be appointed as an Administrator for both Testate and Intestate estates regardless of value. As a one-stop centre for wealth and estate planning, AmanahRaya will professionally compile and manage deceased’s assets, settle any debts, and distribute the remaining assets to the rightful beneficiaries.</p>
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<h2>So, what happens to estates that are not claimed — where do the money and assets go?</h2>
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<p>Contrary to popular belief, estates are not &#8220;frozen&#8221; at AmanahRaya.</p>
<p>When a person passes away, the estates will be in the name of the deceased until their loved ones begin the process of administering it.&nbsp;The estates will not go directly to AmanahRaya.</p>
<p>For instance, if Ahmad leaves behind property, cars, bank deposits, and stocks when he dies, all assets will be frozen at the location or agency where they are being kept. The ownership of the assets still belongs to Ahmad until his surviving family members obtain a Letter of Administration. As long as this step is not done or delayed, the assets will continue to be frozen.</p>
<p>To prevent this from happening, every individual should know the basics of estate management. Better still, you should plan for your inheritance in advance by including a will as part of your wealth and estate planning instrument.</p>
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