On the surface, dealing with money sounds complicated. The reality is that, sometimes it’s hard to determine if you are spending more than what you should be.
And given that half of Malaysians are living pay check-to-pay check, in debt of some kind, and couldn’t pay for an unexpected emergency of RM500 or more, one quickly realises that we are probably doing better than we thought we were. Here are 8 little signs that you’re much more on the right track than you probably thought you were.
1. You know your credit score — and understand how it works.
If you don’t know what your credit score is, it’s important that you find out.
2. You live within your means.
If you’re living relatively modestly and following a general budget that allows you to live according to your income, that likely means that you’d be OK if you didn’t have the same pay check coming in any longer.
3. You automatically save for retirement.
Or a house, or a wedding — whatever. The point is, you save every month.
4. You keep an eye out for camouflage cash.
Money can be hiding in all different parts of your life, whether it’s savings on groceries, a discount on insurance, benefits you’re not using at work, or something else. Don’t ditch those coupons just yet!
5. You don’t feel tempted to live extravagantly.
It’s easy to give in to wanting to order in food or get the newest technology or take that trip with your friends, but if you do these things too often or you do them when you can’t afford to, you could get yourself into some trouble.
6. You have some “financial spare tires.”
Having a few different sources of money and putting aside some to save, can come in handy if you have unexpected medical bills, car issues, or something else that comes up out of the blue.
7. You keep your credit card balance low.
Better yet, don’t own credit cards at all!
8. Your accounts grow at least a little bit every month.
If you can save more than just a tiny bit, that, of course, is probably a good thing to do. But if you can’t, saving a little is better than nothing.
