The Malaysian PF Community Archives

Malaysians Share 7 Silver Linings from the Coronavirus Pandemic

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One of my favourite quotes is: change what you can, accept what you can’t.

That quote is more important than ever nowadays. It’s hard AF, but I want to choose to change my attitude to this whole coronavirus pandemic. I refuse to play the ‘woe is me, everything sucks’ game.

Don’t get me wrong. I am miserable. MCO sucks. Living alone and being away from loved ones right now sucks. Cancelled plans suck. Feeling helpless sucks. Not knowing when this will end sucks.

But I still want to try and live. Find the positives wherever and however I can. It’s the only way I – we – can cope with this without going mental. I’m already seeing predictions from pandemic specialists on how months of MCO may be necessary. How am I supposed to be productive and creative (and earn money during the recession) if I’ve lost it at this early stage?

The thing about feeling negative is it makes it hard for you to think positively. So I turned to the RoR audience for help.

And omg, did you DELIVER. What amazing perspectives you had. Thank you so much. I love it so much, I’ve decided to compile them here, so everyone else can also see the silver linings that you saw.

#1 – The Environment takes a breather

20 ^th
March

13 Things to Do During Restricted Movement Order in Malaysia

Posted by Suraya - 4 Comments

Restricted Movement Order just started, but I admit I’m already restless.

But… I refuse to complain about it. Whatever I’m facing is minor – so minor – compared to what the frontliners are facing. Staying home is the least I can do.

In this article, I compiled some things we can all do during the Restricted Movement Order.

#1 – Work from home

As you know, the Restricted Movement Order demands people who are not part of essential sectors to just stay home and do their work from home. We just have to assume we ourselves are infected and limit our exposure to other people so we don’t infect them.

Easier said than done though. I was already working from home before this, and the transition is minimal, if any, and I still find myself unable to focus on the work.

I don’t know how people get any work done. Am constantly anxious and distracted and glued to my phone

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror) March 20, 2020

But hey, like aka work goes on. That’s why I published this article anyway.

#2 – Enable your spouse to work as well

02 ^nd
March

What’s In My Bag: Malaysia Personal Finance Content Creators Edition!

Posted by Suraya - 5 Comments

Welcome to the What’s In My Bag: Malaysia Personal Finance Content Creators Edition!

For International Women’s Day on 8 March 2020, I thought it would be fun to play around with the theme, #EachforEqual, and ask my fellow personal finance content creators about something that enables their personal and work lives: the contents of their bags.

To put simply, what do we carry around with us to get. shit. done?

24 ^th
February

5 Interesting Info I Found in the Securities Commission Malaysia Website

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Some time ago I wrote about how I got bored one day and decided to check out (and write about) the Bank Negara Malaysia website.

I got bored again, so here’s an article about me clicking around Securities Commission Malaysia website pulak.

(Huh, this can be an ongoing series. I can write about other financial institutions’ websites, why not)

Similar disclaimer here. None of the screenshot-ed images below are mine, they’re taken from the website. Securities Commissions Malaysia team reading this, please don’t sue me *laughs nervously*

17 ^th
February

Malaysians Share Their Best Employee Benefits!

Posted by Suraya - 9 Comments

Good employers exist. Before we even start this article, I just want to tell you that despite all the workplace-related horror stories you read on social media, good and caring employers exist. They just get overshadowed by all the bad ones.

And here’s the thing – they *want* to attract you, a talented professional, to work with them.

This article serves two purposes:

For employers and future employers to take note of what brilliant employees expect in exchange for their hard work and loyalty, so you can grow your business better
For employees to refuse – nay, reject – workplaces that don’t treat them well. Let those businesses die a slow death, they deserve it

Basic Employee Benefits

09 ^th
December

[SPONSORED] I Tried Bursa Marketplace’s Mirror, Learn & Trade Platform

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The idea behind investing in the stock market is easy – buy shares from companies you like, wait for it to grow, and earn a profit through dividends and/or increase in value.

(You can also make money if the share price goes down – that’s called shorting, but that’s not halal and more suitable for more advanced traders so let’s not go there).

But if the idea is so easy, then why do I find it intimidating?

Bursa Malaysia knows that many people have the same feeling. Part of their mandate is to attract more investors to the Malaysian stock market, so they come up with various initiatives, including educational ones, to help us overcome that fear.

The latest initiative – Bursa Marketplace’s Mirror, Learn & Trade Platform or MLT Platform for short – may be the coolest one yet. I tried it out. Here’s what I thought of it.

#1 – Choosing who to mirror is the first step

27 ^th
November

Ringgit Oh Ringgit XMAS GIVEAWAY 2019: Cash, Cash Vouchers, Books, Financial Planning Sessions and More!

Posted by Suraya - 5 Comments

Welcome back to the Ringgit Oh Ringgit Xmas Giveaway! It’s the season to give, give and give!

What prizes are available in this year’s giveaway?

Here are prizes available from all sponsors. You can enter one or ALL of them, up to you. Prizes:

1 x winner for RM100 in AEON Cash Vouchers from Ringgit Oh Ringgit – yours truly 🙂
5 x winners for Tengku Noor Zakiah: Malaysia’s Pioneering Stockbroker Book from Kenanga Group – the award-winning investment bank!
1 x winner for RM100 in MPH Vouchers from Silent Confessions by Syaza Nazura – the blogger behind Fresh Grad 101 series!
1 x winner for 1Y MyPF Premier subscription + Licensed Financial Planning Consultation worth RM1120 from MyPF – the personal finance platform and licensed financial planner
1 x winner for RM100 worth of clothes from Marquise.my (regular size) – my sister’s shop!
1 x winner for RM100 worth of clothes from Malaysia Plus Size (plus size) – my other sister’s shop!
1 x winner for RM300 Cash + 2 x winners for RM100 Cash + 10 x winners for Financial Roadmap sessions from moremoney.my – personal finance education platform
2 x winners for I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi Book from Kewangan Graduan – Twitter-famous personal finance education platform
1 x winner for The Innovators by Walter Isaacson Book from The Pelham Blue Fund – the anon group doing stocks and warrants trading on Bursa Malaysia
3 x winners for RM50 Parkson vouchers from Mun Hong – fellow personal finance blogger
3 x winners for Enam Angka Menjelang Dua Puluh Lima Book by Azraei Muhamad aka #FinancialGory – Twitter-famous personal finance education platform
9 x winners for 2020 Planners worth RM79.90 each from EverydayPlanners.com
1 x winner for The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason book + Muji 2020 Planner in Black from Suyin Invest – personal finance Youtuber!

Note: Interested to be a sponsor? Contact me 🙂 The service is FREE for purchasers of Money Stories for Malaysians: Volume 1 – Platinum package and for fellow personal finance bloggers/ content creators. A fee is charged for everyone else – all donated to charity.

How to enter and win the Xmas giveaway

18 ^th
November

[SPONSORED] Investment-Linked Products, As Explained By the CEO of Life Insurance Association of Malaysia

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As part of an outreach campaign, members of the financial media – including personal finance bloggers like yours truly – were invited to the office of Life Insurance Association Malaysia and treated to a first-hand presentation of the latest update within the investment-linked products industry.

Even the CEO of Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (or LIAM for short), Mark O’Dell attended the meeting. He’s like the top boss in the insurance industry. His background is very, very impressive. Happy to report he was approachable in person.

Let me share with you how LIAM explains investment-linked products. It’s quite clever.

Investment-Linked Products, explained using Nasi Lemak

30 ^th
October

Malaysians Share the Biggest Credit Card Expenses They Ever Made

Posted by Suraya - Leave a comment

Ah, credit cards. The enabler of reckless spending, yet such a useful financial tool when utilised right.

How useful is useful? And how enabling? I had to ask. Naturally, I turn to the RoR audience – I wanted to know the biggest swipe they have ever made on their credit cards. Not just that – I also asked if they themselves thought it was a good decision.

Here are their answers. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

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