Link Roundup #1: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this new regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! Every week (or every other week, see how), I’ll share 10 curated links. I promise you’ll find them informational 🙂

1. Reading the latest Salaries & Wages Survey conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia with interest. Takeaways: (1) Median salary growth for the whole paid employee population (some 8.7 million) is 7.7%; (2) Salary growth in urban areas is almost double than rural areas (6.6% vs 3.6%); and (3) Men’s median salaries grew higher than women’s (8.2% vs 7%). Employers reading this, please compensate your employees fairly, regardless of gender. It’s only fair. Thank you.
2. Malaysia’s unemployment rate was 10.8% in 2017. That means about 1 in 10 of us can’t find suitable jobs! Biggest issue is ‘mismatch of skills’ – not surprised, I know many of you work in completely different industries than what you studied! Worrying statistic: 86.3% of available vacancies in 2017 was for low-skill work (which of course comes with low pay). How sad.
3. It’s gonna be Ramadan buffet season soon! I like to find out about quirky themed buffets – like Inside Scoop’s all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet for RM29 per pax. Do you know any others?
4. Here’s why you shouldn’t leave valuables in a hotel room – hackers have figured out ways to duplicate room keys easily. Use the safe, if your room has one.
5. I’m tickled by TNB’s 14 tips to save money on electricity. See no 14 – advice on using ‘cold wash’ when doing laundry. Does ANY of us actually have ‘hot wash’ setting on our washing machines?
6. I shared the following statement on Twitter: if I could invest in the marijuana industry, I would. There are so many positive signs and I believe it will continue to grow. I thought it would be impossible as a Malaysian, but someone shared that he (a Malaysian living in Malaysia) bought Canadian marijuana stocks and it performed well. So, TIL. Don’t ask me how to do it, because I don’t know myself, but at least now you know it’s possible!
7. According to this article, you can get a bigger hotel room with no extra charge by requesting for the corner room.
8. Heard of this NZ-based eco-friendly startup that sells solid shampoos and conditioner bars. Thought it’s a brilliant way to cut my plastic usage! Do you know of any local brands that sell solid shampoos? Please share in comments, my shampoo’s about to run out!
9. It’s good to let your workmates know about your contribution to the workplace (and it reduces people stealing your credit, too). But you have to do it in the right way, or people will just think you’re showing off. Enjoyed reading this article, which lists three ways to brag at work without sounding arrogant.
10. If you’re looking for new skills to add to your resume, you can’t go wrong with LinkedIn’s top 25 in-demand skills list. Find them AND the online courses to learn these new skills here.

That’s it for this week, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on FB or Twitter.