Some Advice Needed For a 26 y/o Bumi Noob

[victoriousnikky]

Hi everyone! So I've been a silent reader here for a while now - never commented or posted anything. I made this throwaway account because my main one uses my real name (Who uses their real name on Reddit anyway? Silly, I know). Anyway, I need some advice on what to do with my money. (Not that I have a ton of it just laying around haha) I'm just wondering if there are other ways that I can make full use of my savings, instead of just letting it sit in the bank like what I'm doing right now.

A little background: I'm a 26 y/o Malay female, living in KL, working a full-time job that pays peanuts (But I don't mind because I actually enjoy it, the company is reputable, I have awesome bosses and colleagues and even with the super low salary, I still get to pay my rent & bills and put a cent or two into my savings every month.) Right now I have 180k in savings, all parked in ASB. That's it. That's all I have. I have no other investments whatsoever.

So are there other things that I can do with the 180k? Idk maybe take some of it and invest in something else? I honestly have no idea, hence why I'm seeking for you guys' advice here.

Thanks a lot for reading/commenting!

Edit: Wow you guys are freaking amazing. I'm sorry I can't reply to each and every comment but MAJOR thanks for all the advice, I genuinely appreciate it! And to those who compared your savings to mine and end up feeling disheartened, please don't be. I can give you a whole lecture on money and happiness, but it'll be a huge eye-rolling cliché so let me save you the cringiness. Anyway, I'm glad I've found my little community here, you guys are awesome!

 

[ellie1998]

@victoriousnikky I would personally recommend to max out 200k ASB first. It's the most stable investment after all.

and, what kind of peanut are we talking here? 180k in saving is astounding for peanut pay.

 

[victoriousnikky]

@ellie1998 Peanut as in less than 2k net income per month. And that 180k does not come from my peanut job, obviously haha. I was studying abroad before, where I had a part-time job. Ringgit was doing very poorly around the time I graduated, so when I returned to Malaysia and converted the money, it was quite a lot.

 

[ellie1998]

@victoriousnikky ohh that explain it. Piece of advice, maxed out ASB and ASB2 (this quite optional actually) and you can try robo-adviser, less hassle and bigger interest rate for you. I'm on Wahed if you looking for referral code. Some cash rewards for using it.

For risky one, I would suggest P2P but pay attention for default rate. Personally I'm on FundingSociety, default rate is a lowest at the moment and they have kind little robo AI to do investment for you. I'm wont suggest UT or share alike if you doesn't like to micro manage.

 

[bygrace87]

@victoriousnikky How are you getting less than 2k after getting a degree from the states?

 

[victoriousnikky]

@bygrace87 Well tbh, I'm not working in the field that I graduated in. My current job and my degree are pretty much unrelated. So even with my overseas degree, I'm basically starting fresh-- pretty much a baby (not much knowledge, not much experience).

 

[curtis2022]

@bygrace87 I graduated from an elite global uni and got similar pay. Salary has gone up an average of 23%/year so it's not too bad. Some places are good to learn but pay poorly, other places are good to make money at, and a few places are no good.

 

[samretired]

@victoriousnikky May I know wat job and where is it? (the oversea one)

 

[victoriousnikky]

@samretired It was a student job in the States! I was there for 4 years, so I kinda moved up in rank and got paid sliiiiightly more than the average student.

 

[christianforumperson]

@victoriousnikky Wow you must feel really poor now.

Anyway ASB is the best option for RM200K amounts in the future.

 

[resjudicata]

@victoriousnikky i want to know your views on outdated syariah and if it makes majority malay backwards

 

[wane]

@victoriousnikky are you a fresh graduate..?, less than 2k per month for an oversea student whom maybe finished studying in professional courses is absurd

 

[alpharius]

@ellie1998 if 180k at 26 tu noob, aku ni apa sial aaaaa *sadpoorfagface*

 

[ennaid]

@alpharius Damn. My saving not even reach rm50k and I’m already 32. My pay more worst than peanut. Kulit peanut.

 

[victoriousnikky]

@alpharius You noob pro la kot hahahaha. Kidding! Everyone has their own pace in life so no worries, my friend!

 

[jeanlake]

@alpharius XD kan...

 

[dontwanttotell]

@ellie1998 I second this. If you're not actively looking to stress yourself out and micro manage your portfolio, ASB is your best bet. Once you've maxed that out you can head into ASB 2, 3 etc.

Or are you perhaps trying to look into more risky investments?

 

[victoriousnikky]

@dontwanttotell Something more risky that can give me a higher return I guess? Or maybe that's just the greed in me talking haha. But if you guys think ASB is good enough for now, then I guess I'll just stay with ASB.

 

[dontwanttotell]

@victoriousnikky No returns other than FD and some really stable bonds are guaranteed (still at risk of default and coupon deferment). Both on average are typically outperformed by ASB which is fixed priced hence is theoretically capital guaranteed.

Assuming this year's ASB dividend drops down to ~4%, you have to look for other investment vehicles that can guarantee you nett 4% per annum. Most counters in Bursa will definitely move more than that in a day. The question is can you stomach it if it drops in the negative? Will you cut your losses when it pushes past -10%? And if you keep holding will you have the determination to pump in more money and dollar cost average if it's 50% below your buy in price?