{"id":20080,"date":"2015-11-03T09:54:01","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T01:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=20080"},"modified":"2021-07-28T10:43:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T02:43:59","slug":"why-save-money-even-when-you-earn-just-a-little","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/why-save-money-even-when-you-earn-just-a-little","title":{"rendered":"Why Save Money Even When You Earn Just A Little?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Save your money” is perhaps the most common piece of advice of all time. Most of us know that it’s the right thing to do. And yet, a lot of us don’t do it.<\/p>\n

Have you ever wondered why?<\/p>\n

I think I might have found the answer.<\/p>\n

Maybe it’s because\u00a0saving small amounts of money can feel\u00a0worthless<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I know — because I used to feel that way too. Back\u00a0when I first started work, I earned a grand total of RM 2,510 per\u00a0month. After deductions, my take-home salary was about RM 2,220.<\/p>\n

I never saved any money. Not because I didn’t know about personal finance. Only\u00a0partly because I had bad\u00a0discipline. But a\u00a0big reason was\u00a0I didn’t think that\u00a010% savings<\/a>\u00a0(the amount that most financial advisers ask you to start with) was going to make a difference. I would rather spend the money chasing girls.<\/p>\n

After all, what can savings of RM222 a month do?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span>If you save RM 222\/month and it returns 10% per year, by the end of 40 years you\u2019ll have RM 1.2 million.<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

The above statement may sound dubious, but it’s absolutely true.<\/p>\n

Personal finance advisers will tell you this kind of stuff to encourage you to save money.\u00a0It illustrates the power of compound interest — if you give it enough time, your money will grow to huge amounts.<\/p>\n

“Sikit sikit, lama lama jadi bukit.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Right. But let’s\u00a0take a more realistic\u00a0look at this:<\/p>\n

RM 1.2 million in 40\u00a0years’ time isn’t as valuable as RM 1.2 million today. Remember how fifteen years ago a bowl of noodles was only half its price\u00a0today? Inflation is going to happen in the future too.<\/p>\n

It’s also difficult (or nearly impossible) to consistently get 10% returns for 40\u00a0years in a row. To be realistic, I’m going to say the average investor will do\u00a0at best<\/strong>\u00a0what the EPF has been doing for the past few years: around 6%.<\/p>\n

(By the way, don’t listen to anyone who promises you 10% real guaranteed returns every year. Either that person is lying, doesn’t know what he’s talking about or is the next Warren Buffet. And even Warren Buffet doesn’t promise you\u00a0anything.)<\/p>\n

So our “realistic money” after 40 years looks more like this (assuming 3% inflation):<\/p>\n

\"save<\/a><\/p>\n

Three hundred and seventy seven thousand. Still\u00a0pretty good. But\u00a0no longer puts you in the millionaire’s club. And doesn’t address the burning issue that every young person has…<\/p>\n

<\/span>I don\u2019t want to wait 40 years to be rich!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Right. You want to buy your luxury bungalow\u00a0tomorrow. Or at least in the next three years.<\/p>\n

I don’t blame you. I\u00a0wish I could be a millionaire now too.<\/p>\n

But I purposely threw out the above paragraph to illustrate something:\u00a0saving\u00a0small\u00a0amounts of money will\u00a0not\u00a0make you rich<\/a>. Let’s do the math:\u00a0If you need RM30,000 as down payment for a new home, and can only save RM222 a month — it’ll take you\u00a0around\u00a010 years to accumulate that money!<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the best your savings will do\u00a0is\u00a0provide you backup in case of emergencies.<\/p>\n

How discouraging. So why the hell should you\u00a0save money, if it’s not going to make you rich?<\/p>\n

Why not indulge in hipster coffee, iPhones and new\u00a0cars<\/a>\u00a0instead? Or “invest”\u00a0in Multi Level Marketing schemes that promise you easy\u00a0money?<\/p>\n

And then worry about saving only when your salary goes up: “I’ll start saving money once I get that promotion!”<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, that’s a terrible idea.<\/p>\n

Here’s why.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Habits: If you\u2019re not saving today, you probably won\u2019t save tomorrow<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

If you wait to save money — you might never start. Most people increase their spending just as much\u00a0(or even more) when they earn more money. It’s called\u00a0lifestyle<\/a> i<\/a>nflation<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>and\u00a0looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Income<\/center><\/th>
Expenditure<\/center><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
RM2,500<\/center><\/td>
RM2,600<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RM5,000<\/center><\/td>
RM5,500<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RM10,000<\/center><\/td>
RM11,000<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Even RM1 million a month isn’t enough. Before they know it, they’re 40 years old, in serious debt and stuck in a job they hate.<\/p>\n

Here’s a statistic\u00a0that shocked me: some\u00a0sources<\/a>\u00a0say that\u00a070% of people who\u00a0suddenly receive a lot of money<\/a> (for example, winning the lottery) finish all the money within seven years.<\/p>\n

We’re talking about millions of dollars here. How\u00a0do you even finish using that amount of money!? But the sad truth is this: the people who went broke\u00a0never learned\u00a0how to manage\u00a0money properly. They never had the money skills. It was\u00a0inevitable<\/strong>\u00a0that they were going to\u00a0lose it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s like losing weight. Why do most people try all kinds of diets, lose a bit of weight, and then gain it all back again? Because they don’t develop the right habits. They eventually go\u00a0back to eating unhealthy food and not exercising\u00a0— it’s\u00a0inevitable<\/strong>\u00a0that they gain unhealthy weight again.<\/p>\n

If you can’t save even\u00a0a bit\u00a0of money when you’re earning RM5,000, I’ll bet you won’t save money when you earn RM50,000.<\/p>\n

Your daily habits\u00a0today\u00a0<\/em>determine what your life becomes\u00a0in 10\u00a0years’ time.<\/p>\n

* * * * * * * *<\/p>\n

The real reason\u00a0to save money\u00a0isn’t so that you’ll become rich.\u00a0It’s\u00a0so that you\u2019d develop good financial habits.<\/p>\n

That\u00a010% <\/strong>may be a small amount in Ringgit, but it will do wonders for your character. It probably won’t make you a millionaire\u00a0— but it’ll put you on the\u00a0right path: the path to financial security.<\/p>\n

So remember — even if you’re not\u00a0able to save a lot of money every month — do it anyway. As much as possible. It might feel like torture, but keep\u00a0practising\u00a0that good habit. Then increase your savings and investments as\u00a0you start earning more. Train that financial muscle.<\/p>\n

And then someday when you earn\u00a0a lot, you’ll be strong enough to manage\u00a0all that money well.<\/p>\n

And\u00a0then<\/em>\u00a0you’ll be rich.<\/p>\n

Aaron Tang is the founder of<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>mr-stingy.com<\/a><\/strong>. He writes about optimising time, money, and relationships \u2013 to make the most out of life.<\/strong><\/em><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Save your money” is perhaps the most common piece of advice of all time. Most of us know that it’s the right thing to do. And yet, a lot of us don’t do it. Here’s why. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,218],"tags":[219],"class_list":["post-20080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budgeting","category-money-management","tag-bi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Save Money Even When You Earn Just A Little? | iMoney<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most of us know that saving money is the right thing to do. And yet, a lot of us don't do it. 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