It has been a challenging year for Malaysia, with the overall negative economic sentiment, the rising cost of living and the weakening Ringgit. The anticipation for what Budget 2016 will bring is palpable.<\/p>\n
Are we still on track to becoming a high-income nation in 5 years? How about the rakyat<\/em>\u2019s well-being?<\/p>\n Are we making headways in reducing the country\u2019s fiscal deficit? In what area can we adjust to make up for the loss of revenue due to the sliding oil prices?<\/p>\n Is the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) able to cover some of the loss? It has been a painful GST experience so far, especially for the lower and middle income group. Many prices were increased, making it incredibly hard to cope financially.<\/p>\n There are lifestyle adjustments<\/a> we must make to survive, and investment is no longer an option but a compulsory money management practice to protect our money. It is also more important to comb through different banking products properly, such as getting the right credit card<\/a> that can help us save, or getting a fixed deposit account that will protect our emergency fund from eroding due to the rising inflation.<\/p>\n