RM20k salary for a family is not enough in Klang Valley ?

RM20k not enough (don’t love own kids version)

Income = RM20,000

RM20,000 – RM2,000 (EPF) = RM18,000

RM18,000 – RM3,500 (Tax) = RM14,500

RM14,500 – RM2,000 (1 god car and one Iriz for husband and wife, around 140k, installment around 2k for 5 years loan) = RM12,500

RM12,500 – RM4,500 (House, PJ terrace house is 1M these days, loan 900k or 4.5k a month) = RM8,000

RM8,000 – RM1,000 (Public school for 2 kids since we hate our kids and want them to be stupid. But we still provide tuition and other classes for the 2 brats) = RM7,000

RM7,000 – RM1,000 (Mom is housewife so cook at home save money. Ikat perut since we hate our family) = RM6,000

RM6,000 – RM2,000 (Give parents and parents in-law money 2k monthly) = RM4,000

RM4,000 – RM500 (Astro, internet, ipon = RM500, lets share phone plan…cheaper plan also save money yo) = RM3,500

RM3,500 – RM200 (Children pocket money) = RM3,200

RM3,200 – RM1,000 (Car, petrol, toll and maintenance) = RM2,200

RM2,200 – RM1,000 (Wife pocket money) = RM1,200

RM1,200 – RM500 (Holiday once a year within SEA , RM6k for 4 people or RM500 monthly) = RM700

RM700 – RM200 (Electric and Water Bill) = RM500

RM500 – RM500 (Misc expenses) = RM0

Savings = RM0

Pity, save kao kao and mistreat own kids pun not enough.

Source: http://www.funnymalaysia.net/

Became a millionaire at 28, but it came with a price

She helped build a tech company that was sold for $37 million... when she was only 28! But Lim Qing Ru’s newfound wealth came at a price.

On the middle finger of her left hand, Lim Qing Ru sports a ring with “April 10 2014” engraved on it.

That was the day news broke that Zopim, the tech company she joined as a co-founder in 2008, had been acquired by an American software company for a reported US$29.8 million (roughly S$37 million).

The payout was split between herself and four other co-founders, making her a multimillionaire overnight. She was then two weeks shy of her 29th birthday.

“We went from being nameless entrepreneurs to instant role models for the tech industry,” says Qing Ru, who turns 30 this April. “All of a sudden, everyone was paying attention to us.”

Journalists spun a blithe tale about how a group of scrappy entrepreneurs finally made good after years of surviving on meagre salaries: They created a winning product – a chat widget that allows business owners to send instant messages to customers and provide real-time customer service – after which the company was wooed by US-based customer support firm Zendesk. The co-founders then signed an acquisition deal that gave each of them multimillion-dollar payouts. It was the perfect rags-to-riches tale. Or so it seemed.

Like giving up a child
The truth was, it wasn’t quite the happily-ever-after that most people imagined it to be.

“[The acquisition] wasn’t an easy decision,” admits Qing Ru. “I spent seven years building the company with my blood, sweat and tears. Then, I had to let it go.” After signing the agreement, she sobbed uncontrollably. Till this day, she hasn’t spent a cent of her millions – she can’t bear to. All of it is sitting in a bank.

If going into a business is like getting married (“you stick with your partners through thick and thin”), then building a company is like giving birth to a child, she explains. “It’s heartbreaking to give up your baby.”

Even after the deal was closed, there were nail-biting moments. At the time of acquisition, Zendesk was a relatively young company and had not yet launched its initial public offering (IPO) – its IPO was launched only in May, the month following the acquisition. A portion of Qing Ru’s payout was in the form of Zendesk shares, which could very well have ended up worthless if the IPO had failed. “If things had turned out badly, I would never have forgiven myself,” says Qing Ru. “I would have signed away my baby for nothing.”

Fortunately, things went well. Zendesk shares started trading at $11.40 apiece – above the company’s off ering price of $9 – and their value doubled to around $23 apiece in December. Every day, she thanks her lucky stars that her instincts turned out right.

How it started
Money was never Qing Ru’s motivation in life. Her supervisor father and housewife mother were frugal folk who often took her to playgrounds as a child as they didn’t want to splurge on toys. She says cheekily: “I became quite a bully. If I saw a boy on my favourite toy car at the playground, I’d tell him to get off! When you have to share, you learn to fight for what you want.”

She majored in philosophy at the National University of Singapore. While there, she was disappointed to learn that most of her seniors had ended up as public servants. Being a bureaucrat and following procedures wasn’t her idea of an exciting career.

After poking around, she stumbled upon the university’s underground start-up scene: Student entrepreneurs were working in converted bungalowoffi ces on the fringes of the campus. Engineers, programmers and designers ate, slept and worked side by side in these spaces, feverishly talking about their passion projects. “Just being in the same room as them, and soaking up their energy, excited me,” she says. “They were a very different breed.”

Through these circles, Qing Ru met Royston Tay, Wu Wenxiang, Kwok Yang Bin and Julian Low. The four friends had just started a new tech company: Zopim.

She and the boys were all straight talkers and shared the same sense of fun. When the guys travelled to Silicon Valley to pitch their company to investors, they asked Qing Ru to represent them in a Singapore start-up competition. Soon after, they invited her to join Zopim as a co-founder.

Surviving on $500 salaries
Most entrepreneurs have the same woe: slogging for hours on pitiful pay, fuelled only by passion and coffee refills.

But Qing Ru is reluctant to dwell on those details. “If we had focused only on the sacrifices, we never would have accomplished anything,” she says. “Was it really important to have a big pay cheque? You don’t need a lot to survive. Was it really important to work only eight hours a day? But we enjoyed our work! These ‘sacrifices’ were conscious choices we made.”

They weren’t easy choices though. In her first year of work, Qing Ru and her co-founders paid themselves just $500 a month. After that, they went without salaries for half a year.

She recalls having food poisoning and not being able to afford the $15 doctor’s consultation fee. “I went home, cried and slept it off ,” she says baldly.

Stress and long working hours turned her skin sallow. She talks self-deprecatingly about how she stopped bothering with makeup and haircuts, and wore cheap, baggy pants (“the sort from the pasar malam!”) to work as she had no money to shop.

“I would think, ‘How can I care about clothes when I have sh*t to do!?’” she says with a laugh. Even her boyfriend started hinting about her sloppy dressing. “He met sharply dressed women in his investment banking job... and then he’d meet me,” she deadpans.

The two broke up several times, partly due to the strain of their jobs, but they always got back together; they’re still dating now. “Being apart made me appreciate him more,” she reflects. “He saw me through my struggles and we survived so many problems together. That’s more important than finding some fantasy guy with a checklist of impeccable qualities.”

A tough fighter
One of Qing Ru’s most enduring memories of Zopim is that of the founders’ twice-yearly performancereview sessions. Th e five of them would coop themselves up in a room for 14 hours without breaks and give one another feedback – and they didn’t mince their words.

“If something had been handled badly, we would say ‘that sucked’ or ‘that project was f*cked up’,” she says. “I was in charge of marketing and my co-founders once said to my face that none of my work mattered if I couldn’t deliver a viral campaign.”

Such sessions were part of the company’s culture of absolute honesty. “When your team sets high standards for you, it means they trust you to deliver,” she says, adding that her colleagues’ candidness was vital in pushing her to improve. She adds with a grin: “It helps that I’m very thick-skinned.”

Where to go from here?
Today, Qing Ru is the director of customer advocacy at Zendesk. While she’s happy in her role, one senses a certain restlessness when talking to her.

Now that Zopim is a success, she dreams of creating another start-up one day. “Starting a business is not about making money – I mean, how much do you need to survive?” she says. “It’s about the legacy you want to leave behind... the impact you want to have on the world.” -- HW

Source: http://www.herworldplus.com/

7 Top Money Management Apps 2014

Dailycost.com

  

The Dailycost app helps track monthly spending.

Keeping a balanced budget can help you stay on track and sleep better at night. But if your money-management system requires sifting through piles of receipts and retrieving cash from various pockets and purses, it’s time to reconsider your approach. With these seven apps, you can put away the paperwork and get a better understanding of your daily, weekly, monthly and annual spending habits. 

Ready, set, download and go!

Expensify

COST: Free

Operating system: iOS, Android and Windows

This app offers both smartphone and web interfaces. The clean, easy-to-navigate interface features four big buttons: SmartScan, Add Expense, Track Time and Track Distance. 

“SmartScan” lets you photograph, categorize and tag receipts, and then add them to expense reports if necessary. You can also enter the merchant name, total amount spent and date for each expense. This is great for anyone who wants to save receipts but doesn’t want to hang on to a paper copy. If you prefer manual input, “Add Expense” offers the categorizing options. You can also note if the expense is billable and/or reimbursable by the flip of a few switches. 

The “Track Distance” option is especially handy for freelancers who travel by car and want or need to bill by distance; here, you can track by odometer, or just turn on location and use the app’s GPS. The “Track Time” option offers a way to keep tabs on hourly earnings, which are based on a set hourly rate. 

Add your debit and/or credit card through the web version of Expensify, and you’ll be able to track your total account balances alongside those daily expenses and earnings. Expensify offers both micro and macro pictures of your financial life. Later, you can export your expense reports or send invoices straight from the app or the web version.

Check

COST: Free

Operating system: iOS and Android

Check is an excellent money management app for those who prefer to put all expenses on their credit and debit cards. After establishing a secure connection, Check asks you to add your bills to the account. This means credit card bills, gas, electric and even car payments. 

Check is especially useful for notifications about bill payment dates. It tells you when your credit card bill is due, what your minimum payment is and offers you an opportunity to pay your bill through the app. If you’re a first-time Check user, you’ll get $10 off the first bill you pay if you do use the app. You can also track your credit score for $6.99/month and learn about other credit card offers through the My Offers tab. If you are a heavy credit card user and want to track expenses that way, Check is an ideal app for you. You’ll even receive an alert email if you are using more than 30% of your credit limit’s total credit because doing so could damage your credit score. 

When you enter your bank account info into Check, the app also tells you how much you have in your account right now so that there’s no vagueness around your current money situation. It shows you this week’s bills, how much is on your credit card at all times and a pie chart of where your money is going.

DailyBudgt

COST: $1.99

Operating systems: iOS

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DailyBudgt (yes, there’s no ‘e’) is designed to help you keep track of your daily expenses. First, go into the app and set your budget for the week, then set your budget just for today. This can be especially useful if you’re taking out an amount of cash as a method of slowing down your spending. You can also turn on a reminder for extra notifications about what you’ve spent from your daily and weekly budget. 

DailyBudgt also shows you which week of the year you’re in so that you can better track long-term spending. After inputting information, the app lets you see what you’ve spent by day, month or week. Checking the “month” option will give you a circular chart with “total,” “balance” and “spent,” or how much you have left to spend this month. If you look at spending by week, you’ll see the icons associated with each type of spending in addition to a smaller pie chart. 

This app does not connect to debit or credit card accounts. But if you are used to writing down all of your spending by hand on a notepad and feel ready to make the switch into digital, this app will do the trick. DailyBudgt aims for simplicity above all else.

Spending 2

COST: Free 

Operating system: iOS

Spending is a great app for tracking month-to-month spending, particularly if your budget changes on a monthly basis. Start by entering the first month’s budget and then divvy your spending up into five categories: food, personal, transportation, bills and education.(There’s also a separate category for traveling only, which is useful if you do have a separate travel budget.) The app shows your spending yesterday and today, but you can also view it by week, month and year. You can also select the day your week starts, which is useful for people whose schedules do not operate on a regular nine to five, Monday through Friday workweek.

When entering expenses, you can also mark something as a “repeat.” So if you take the same yoga class every Thursday, say, you can just input it as a recurring expense. In this app, you can also enter your income alongside expenses; your income appears in green, your expenses go blue and the overall balance (income minus expenses) appears in black. 

You can also specify whether an expense is cash or credit upon entering it, which comes in handy if you’re putting certain expenses on your credit card and others with cash. Note that the app doesn’t put a default decimal point into dollar amounts so be sure to do it yourself. Otherwise, what should be $5.50 could turn into $550.

DailyCost

COST: $1.99

Operating system: iOS

DailyCost is an easy-to-use and rather basic app for tracking monthly spending. Before you open it, decide if your week starts on Sunday or Monday. Enter your daily expenses, filing them under a bevy of categories including movies, travel, books and groceries. DailyCost keeps track of everything through a spool-like counter at the top of the screen, organizing by number of days, number of entries and total cost. 

To leave the input section, tap the checkmark in the upper right-hand corner of the screen; there you’ll see the entries broken down by category. To return to the spool, tap the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. For fun, you can change the wallpaper background on total spending; at the top, you’ll also see time elapsed by day of the week. You can also invite a friend via email to try out the app or export a CSV of all your spendings via email. 

If you travel often, note that DailyCost differentiates between travel (flights and trains) and transport (commuting in cities via bus, train or taxi). DailyCost also offers international currency options.

HBL Moneywise

COST: Free 

Operating system: iOS and Android

MoneyWise is designed to help you balance your budget, track expenses, generate reports and bank on the go through a “find ATM” option and mobile banking. The app’s home screen is very straightforward, offering buttons for budget overview, adding expenses, tracking savings, expenses overview, categories, reports, finding nearby ATMs and mobile banking.

MoneyWise serves little tips at the top of the screen, which give this app a more personalized touch. (Example: “Go grocery shopping while you are in a hurry. You will be focused and won’t have time for needless browsing.”) Everything in this app is efficient and straightforward—especially the Expense section. Here, you see all of your spending by category.

Dollarbird

COST: Free

Operating system: iOS and Android 

Dollarbird is a useful and intuitive money-tracking app that doesn’t offer a lot of bells and whistles. This app uses a monthly calendar format, which allows you to look at how much you’ve spent every day of the month. Enter your expenses, and then they’ll show up as a single light gray number on that day. At the end of the day, you’ll know how much you spent and what you purchased.  

You also have the option to track expenses by color-coded category. Be sure to add any new, recurring categories. For example, I added categories like “hair cuts” and “coffee,” which aren’t part of the Dollarbird default categories. Swipe through each month, and you’ll see totals and get a good idea of the category expenses you tend to spend the most on. You can also add your income and overall budget, and get an overview of spending by month through a comprehensive graph.  

Dollarbird also offers optional PIN code protection and allows you to decide whether your week starts on Monday or Sunday. And if you’re the type that doesn’t constantly enter transactions but does save receipts, flip the switch “on” for a reminder to input transactions at a specific time of your choosing. There’s also an option to download all of your expenses into a CSV spreadsheet. 

The story “7 top money management apps” originally appeared on DailyWorth.com.

Strategies to Grow Money Effectively

Taking stock of moves to tackle financial challenges

AS the new year takes shape, a number of hazards are expected to challenge the state of our personal finances. An early warning arrived when the sugar subsidy was cut in Budget 2014, a bitter indication that food prices would soon be rising.

Soon afterwards, consumers got a second wake-up call when news broke that the electricity tariff would be raised by 15% from this month, which would inevitably have an economic ripple effect. Yet, the bombshell of the year may be the stunning increase in assessment rates of up to 300% by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. Understandably, property owners have not taken the rate hike lying down.

External factors may also impact us, as the economic recovery in the United States has not been as robust as expected. There are clearly many threats beyond our control.

All these changes indicate that we are going to face more financial challenges this year. There is no better time than the present to take stock of our strategies to tackle these adverse developments.

However, one thing is in our hands and can make all the difference – at work or at home with regard to personal matters or our financial health – a positive, “can-do” attitude.

Eight Musts

Here are eight MUSTS that can open the door to financial success and a rewarding life this new year:

1. Determine the optimal return on investment (ROI) you need to achieve to enjoy financial freedom.

Everyone has a magic number by which they need their wealth to grow, say, 10% or 6%, that will take them to their financial goals. Simple as it sounds, there are real dangers for us if we are off the mark.

For example, without a target, we may be attracted to investments that promise unrealistic returns. Schemes like the under-probe Genneva Malaysia gold trading business or high-risk overseas investment plans are two perfect examples. So, be guided by sound parameters when making investment decisions.

Equally, if we set our ROI target too low, then we could become complacent about our financial plans, and run the risk of seeing inflation erode our asset value. As a result, the quality of life that we expect to enjoy may slip out of reach.

2. Set an optimal savings target, taking note that rising expenses will take a bigger bite out of our disposable income.

For example, the goods and services tax, when implemented in April 2015, and the continued cutting of subsidies will put upward pressure on the cost of living. On the other hand, the expected reduction in the income tax rate will put more money into our pockets. These two extra factors alone are enough to throw our current budgets off balance. Therefore, it is wise to review our current expenditure and adjust our lifestyle costs and savings targets accordingly.

As a rule of thumb, we should save at least 35% of our income, including our savings in the Employees Provident Fund, in order to meet our financial goals.

Just as crucially, we have to save and invest at the same time, as we need to grow our money faster than the rate of inflation to reach our financial targets.

3. Plan and provide for your cash flow needs before investing. This is absolutely crucial because without holding power, we are sure to lose money, no matter how good our choice of investment.

Guideline

As a guideline, we should set money aside for the following:

> Lifestyle funding. Working persons should maintain a six-month reserve, and the retired should have three years’ reserve on stand-by to finance living expenses, vacations, insurance premiums and housing loan repayments.

> Children’s university education funding. Keep the money ready three years ahead.

> Home purchase funding. Plan for financing three years ahead.

> Medical expenses funding.

4. Diversify and allocate your money.

A good rule of thumb is to allocate not more than 30% of our investable assets in a single asset class, such as property, cash, equities, bonds or commodities.

Taking a cue from Budget 2014, measures like the increase in the real property gains tax and the banning of the developer’s interest-bearing scheme to prevent the property market from overheating mean that the real estate sector could soften.

So, taking profit from the property asset class and divesting is a smart strategy. For example, if you have 80% of your investments in property, then you could cut it down to 40%, shifting to cash and equities instead.

5. Cut under-performers

Normally, when investing, we are very positive. For example, we may believe that our investments in unit trusts are going to perform well. In reality, however, we need to regularly monitor these investments. Say the fund promises to deliver a 10% return but is actually giving 3%, while peer funds are giving 11% or 12%. If this is the case, then it’s time to take immediate action. Many avoid taking that step because it is emotionally difficult to cut our losses. It is like jumping from a sinking ship. We must let go of our fear to make a new start.

6. Get a second opinion on any potential investment decision.

There are many innovative schemes being offered that attract retail investors, including oil palm growing schemes, offshore investment funds, gold coin trading, crude oil investment schemes and overseas property development schemes.

The best person to provide advice is usually an independent financial adviser licensed by the regulators. They are acutely aware of these schemes and know the inherent risks and benefits. Many of these schemes are clever at selling the apparent growth potential of the products, but are coy about their downside risks.

Questions to ask before signing up for these investments include:

> Is there a better option for the same type of investment? For example, instead of an oil palm grower’s scheme, it may be better to buy an oil palm company’s stock.

> If the promised return is 15% or 20%, is it deliverable?

> What is the potential for capital loss?

> Will my capital be safe?

Preferably, we should ask someone else these questions, and never ourselves, because when we are investing, we tend to be over-excited about the prospects of making money and often fail to answer these questions objectively.

7. Review your insurance coverage and the premium you are paying.

It is costly to have too high an insurance coverage if you already have enough insurance and assets to take care of your family. On the other hand, if your insurance coverage is too low, then your dependents are at risk of suffering a severe setback in case of any eventuality. Your insurance coverage is optimal if the total annual insurance premium you pay is less than 15% of your annual gross income:

Insurance premium ratio = total annual insurance premium/annual gross income (<15 p="">

Insurance for protection

If the ratio is more than 15%, then the chances are that you are paying too much for insurance. Rightfully, insurance is only for protection because insurance companies are not primarily dealing in the investment fund business, so, your money may grow slower than expected, and you may not have enough money for other purposes.

Note that while the above pointers are a rule of thumb, they may not apply to all age groups. As each individual will have different goals, it is best to tailor-make a financial plan that meets our specific needs.

8. Develop a tailor-made holistic financial plan to identify the OPTIMAL level of financing for your needs.

An individual’s financial needs will vary depending on a number of factors. These include retirement living expenses, children’s tertiary education funding, medical expenses, loan exposure and insurance. It also depends on the age at which we wish to retire, our savings target and the expected ROI.

In conclusion, if we use these checkpoints purposefully, we will be well-positioned to make the right decisions about our personal finances and can manage challenging financial circumstances with confidence. In this way, we can make good progress towards achieving financial freedom at an optimal pace.

Here’s to a fruitful year optimising our money!

Yap Ming Hui (yap@yapminghui.com) is a best-selling author, TV personality, columnist and coach on money optimisation. He heads Whitman Independent Advisors, a licensed independent financial advisory firm which has helped people optimise their wealth and achieve financial freedom since 2000.

Useful Financial Tips for Women

THERE is a lot of financial advice out there, if you know where to look. There are thousands of financial management books targeted at women, and plenty of tips on the Internet.

Here are our top money management tips for women; they could make the difference between financial freedom and financial dependency.

1. Depend on yourself: You must earn your own money, or find a way to create a stream of income.

Some women give up their careers when children come along, and become dependent on their spouse for income.

If you are inclined to be there for your future children, plan for it properly. While you’re still working, put in place a plan that will allow you to have income even if you’re not working. This can be done through investments, a savings product that gives you a fixed amount every year, or rental income from real estate.

If you’re already not working, think of something you can do from home: freelancing, setting up a home business, e-commerce.

2. Spend below your earning capacity: This is common sense, yet it’s hard to keep to the budget. With the proliferation of credit cards and interest-free instalments, it seems the whole world is conspiring to get you to spend. Don’t. If you want to grow your wealth, you need seed money.

To get seed money, you need to have some cash left over every month, after deducting your expenses. Instead of another bout of retail therapy, put that money away and invest it.

3. Have a say on how money is spent in your family: Whether you’re contributing to a two-income family or are a stay-at-home spouse, you must have a say in your family financials. Make sure you are involved in family financial decisions. Get educated about money. Learn how investments work. Study the economy.

4. Set financial goals: Be clear about what financial independence means to you.

Decide on what you want, and work at putting plans and investments in place that will allow you streams of income to that end.

5. Build an emergency fund: You should have a fund to cushion against emergencies. Most financial books advocate a three to six month buffer.

6. It’s never too late: No matter what age you are, it’s never to late to start planning for financial freedom.

Learn how to invest, and start now. Put in place a plan that suits your income and lifestyle.

Talk to a professional financial planner, who can point you in the right direction. Get educated now.

Source: Star Online

Credit Card for First Timer

OWNING a credit card for the first time is, in a way, a big personal achievement. It means you've taken a big step in managing your personal finances.

The appeal of owning a credit card is understandable it can be both a convenient and efficient add-on when it comes to dealing with your finances. However, with so many cards available in the market today, where do you start? Or do you start at all?

There is some work to do before filling your wallet with “plactic money.”

Know yourself

Prior to applying for a credit card, it's important to know the type of spender that you are. P.S. Tan, 33, a self-confessed shopoholic, says that the main reason she got a card was to be able to indulge in what she loves doing best shop!

“With a credit card, I can shop as much as I can so long as I don't exceed my credit limit,” she enthuses, adding that she used to feel “deprived” before she owned a credit card.

“I used to get depressed because I couldn't afford the latest women's clothing and accessories. But with a credit card, I don't feel so limited,” says Tan.

Meanwhile, frugal P. Jeya, 44, says she applied for a credit card so as to be able to pay for big ticket items.

“These include, household stuff or my children's college fees, which had to be paid in a lump sum,” she says.

However, owning a credit card can sway a person's spending habit.

“After getting a credit card, I became a bit more of a spend-thrift,” says Razlan Hashim, 38, a bank officer.

“It's psychological. When you're not physically handling money or seeing it coming out of your wallet, spending tends to be a little bit more care-free,” he adds.

Razlan believes that people who had the tendency to overspend should not own credit cards.

“A credit card is useful if you can't use cash to pay for something or don't have the immediate cash to do so. But you should always ask yourself is it something that you want or is it something that you really need?

“Most of the time, you'll use your credit card on something that you don't necessarily need. It is better to save up the cash for something you want, than own a credit card and have a mounting bill and interest looming over your head.”

Be responsible

Owning a credit card also comes with added responsibilities, namely the need to better manage your finances and pay your bill on time.

Says Tan: “You can be a big spender or a small one. But what's important is how quickly or consistently you're going to repay your credit card debt.”

Razlan concurs: “Before you apply for a credit card, you need to ask yourself if you can shoulder the responsibility of settling your debts consistently and in a timely manner. Late payments or not paying off your credit in full means added interests incurred or even penalties.”

Individuals who have reached their credit limit but still want to continue spending end up applying for a second (or even a third!) credit card, which, if not properly managed, can create huge debt problems.

“We've all heard the horror stories of people with debt problems resorting to money-lenders,” says Razlan.

Of course, having a second credit card also means added annual service charges. However, Jeya notes that one can always waive the annual charges.

“I have two credit cards and have the annual charges for one of them waived. “I tend to use one card more often than the other and it came to a point when I wanted to terminate the one I seldom used.

“But since I was a long-time customer with the bank (of the credit card I wanted to discontinue), the bank was willing to waive the annual service charges.”

Alternatively, a bank is also willing to waive your annual service charges if the card is used regularly.

Choose well

With so many products being offered by multiple institutions, it's always best to determine which bank offers incentives that best suit your needs and convenience.

“Certain banks offer credit cards with rebates or interest points for a type of leisure activity that you tend to indulge in quite often. Perhaps you can get good discounts at a shop or restaurant you frequently visit.

“Or if you're a frequent traveller, then maybe a particular bank offers points whenever you travel overseas,” says Razlan.

Jeya, who has been a credit card holder for over 15 years, says she chose a bank that had a nearby branch to ease settling her bill.

“Of course, today you can pay you credit card bills online. But back then, it was more common to go directly to a bank to settle your debts. Some banks had so few branches that it was so inconvenient.

“Before applying for a card, it's best to ask the people or speak to a professional to see what kind of incentives come with the credit card you intend to apply for,” says Jeya.