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4 Things I Learned After Getting Paid for Influencer Services in Malaysia

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Since I started Ringgit Oh Ringgit, I’ve been lucky enough to be approached by brands that want to work with me. I’ve done sponsored content for at least 10 companies now, including some pretty big names in the financial space.

Like I mentioned in my What It’s Like to be a Personal Finance Blogger in Malaysia article, I didn’t set out wanting to be a ‘KOL’ (key opinion leader), or an influencer of any kind. In fact, hearing people calling me a KOL/influencer is still weird. It only sunk in after a friend sat me down and berated the shit out of me. Thanks friend for the tough love approach, I appreciate it, even if you did call me some unprintable words.

So with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to write about my experience so far, and a little bit about influencers in Malaysia. Here are some things I learned.

#1 – Influencers sell attention, a high-value commodity

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10 Malaysia-Based Personal Finance Twitter Accounts to Follow

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If you love personal finance as a topic but have not explored Malaysian Twitter yet, do I have a treat for you today.

Following my popular personal finance Instagrammers in Malaysia article, I thought I’d compile the Twitter version pulak. Here are some Malaysia-based personal finance Twitter accounts you definitely should follow. Note that I have intentionally excluded other personal finance thought leaders in Malaysia who don’t use Twitter as their main engagement channel (bloggers, Instagrammers etc). I also exclude Twitter accounts maintained by finance-related companies and media.

This names in this list links directly to their Twitter accounts and appear in no particular order. If I missed out anyone, do let me know (or leave a comment with a link to the profile!)

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My Total Income and Expenses in 2018

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Doing a tally of my total incomes and expenses for the third year in a row! In this annual series, I’m as financially naked as I can be – you’ll know how much I earned for the whole of 2018 and what I spent on during the year.

Seriously, I love that I keep such meticulous record of my financial data (even though it’s nowhere near perfect, but perfect is boring and not to mention impossible). I love that I can share this information with you, so you get to see how record-keeping is beneficial in practice. FYI, incomes are recorded via a Google spreadsheet while expenses are recorded via my expense-tracking app Money Lover.  If you’re a regular reader, you should already be familiar with my expense breakdowns anyway – I post them every month.

Income in 2018

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Link Roundup #18: 10 Things to Know This Week

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Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1. This Is What Life Without Retirement Savings Looks Like – The Atlantic

One of my biggest fears in life is being forced to work to cover my living costs when I’m old and in pain. This article interviews people who are exactly in that situation.

Read the article, then note how you feel. For me, it was fear, helplessness and renewed motivation to work my ass off while I’m still young – in that order. If I have this much time to plan, I don’t have any excuse for letting the worst-case-scenario happen to me, do I?

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Budget Update: December 2018

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Budget Update: December 2018

Happy new year! Welcome, 2019! Thank goodness I didn’t go out on New Year’s Eve, or I would’ve spent more than RM6000 in December 2018 for sure!

December 2018 was… alright. A mix of extreme happiness and extreme apathy; a strange, emotionally confusing month. I pushed the limits of my mental strength, and found it. In the same month, I tried to: go to the gym regularly, maintain a strict diet and quit smoking, all on top of my regular schedule and work. It exhausted me. I felt like I was not really ‘there’ most of the time.

I’m glad I found my limit though. Now I know what I can and cannot do, and be more careful when implementing multiple challenges at once (even though they’re all technically good for me). As of time of writing, I’ve decided to stop the strict diet (keto btw) because it’s beginning to be quite damaging to my mental health. At one point, my cravings got so bad I spent an afternoon making a list of food items I that I ‘cannot’ have but really want. It came up to 37 items.

Any of you tested your capability to follow through a strict self-development routine? How’d it work for you?

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Where Do People Get the Money to Afford Their Amazing Lifestyles?

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Is it just me, or do you also feel like other people have better lives than yours?

Based on their updates on social media, it seems like everyone is sporting new outfits, getting new blings, updating home decor, buying new toys, traveling to new places, enjoying nice food at fancy restaurants…

And your sad self wonders, why am I not doing as well as they are? What else do I need to do to bust my ass in order to afford those nice things in my life?

This article is all about guessing how and where other people get the money to afford their amazing-looking lifestyles. I’ve racked my brains thinking of all the possible ways. Here they are:

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Link Roundup #17: 10 Things to Know This Week

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Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1. The e-wallet infinity war in Malaysia – Everything you need to know about e-wallet starts here… – ecInsider

First of all, the article’s accompanying image though hahahahhahahah:

The image kinda describes the e-wallet scene in Malaysia right now – there are so many players that you can’t help to wonder who will ‘disappear’ and who will make it in the end. The author’s predictions, backed with pretty solid arguments – is #5 as listed in its table of contents.

  1. The dawn of the e-wallet infinity war
  2. Does e-wallet provider need a license in Malaysia?
  3. What is BNM’s policy on e-wallet?
  4. Who are the e-wallet providers in Malaysia?
  5. Which e-wallet providers will stay in the long run?
  6. Will Malaysians use e-wallet?
  7. Understanding e-wallet 1-2-3
  8. Why should retailers & etailers care?
  9. How to differentiate Static vs Dynamic QR payment?
  10. Who will win: network-based or card-based e-wallet?

There’s a link in the article, right near the end, which points you to the e-wallets in Malaysia Facebook community. I’ve personally learned a few e-wallet-related money hacks from the group, can recommend *thumbs up*

E-wallet deals also appear a lot in BestDealsMalaysia.com.

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Calculating the Amount I Need to FI/RE in Malaysia

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FI/RE = Financial Independence/Retire Early. That’s the dream, isn’t it? Imagine waking up in the morning, thinking, eh, I don’t feel like working today, so you just… don’t. And still be okay financially, with no consequences.

I want that. I want that so bad.

The topic of financial independence and early retirement has been on my mind for the longest time, but I admit I’ve pushed it back time and time again. I’m afraid to find out the amount I need to get there. I’m afraid the number will be too big that it’ll discourage me, instead of motivating me. I’m afraid to think of the sacrifices I have to make.

Which is why I’m forcing myself to write this article. Let’s force out all those jumbled thoughts and put them in a linear, clear format.

Calculating how much I need

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