Nobody likes to waste money, so getting more value for less is something that we all strive for. However the already difficult task of saving money has become more challenging in Malaysia recently.
With a 6% GST introduced in April on goods ranging from food items to beauty and health products, prices across Malaysia have increased. Additionally, our recent economic uncertainty is something that we cannot ignore. This month the ringgit has weakened to its lowest levels in 17 years. This will affect our household budgets with food and oil prices and interest rates all influenced by these currency fluctuations.
With this is mind EZTakaful has compiled some top tips, tricks and treats we hope you will find helpful in getting more for less and making sure you spend your hard earned money on what matters most; family and everyone you love.
Shop smarter – Use Comparison websites…
Price comparison websites are easy and effective way of comparing prices across the market. They exist for a whole host of consumer items, but the most well-known tend to specialise in financial products such as insurance, credit cards, personal loans and gas and electricity tariffs. Websites such as comparehero.my and imoney.my are great financial tools when making decisions to find your next credit card, internet plan or hand phone contract.
But don’t just stop there; you can even compare comparison websites! We recommend running your search through more than one comparison website and watch out for any differences between the results they throw up. The more you research the item you desire and its availability the better your chances of making an informed decision and saving money will be.
Feeling a bit hungry? Don’t go grocery shopping…
Shopping whilst hungry should be avoided. Studies have shown that your grocery bill can go up by 17% when shopping with an empty stomach! Hungry shoppers tend to purchase more food than they need, buy more junk food and make less healthy food choices. Hunger creates an acquisitive mind-set that encourages people to purchase the bag of crisps or tub of ice cream that they would not have purchased if they had eaten earlier in the day. All these extra items cost ringgit and sen that you could have saved – so next time you plan to go shopping, make sure you have a healthy snack before!
Use Deal sites…
Online deal sites can be a great way of sourcing discounts and saving money. Sites like Groupon Malaysia aggregate the best deals on the internet and make browsing for a specific deal extremely easy, segmenting offers in to categories such as travel, food, beauty, products and events. The most popular site, Groupon Malaysia, has exclusive discounts for Maybank2U users. However there are other useful websites you can use to get a good deal. For example ensogo.com.my and streetdeal.my are two websites that you can use to find to get up to 80% off regular retail prices. So before you go out to the malls to purchase a product or gift, do make sure that you check deal websites online first, you could save yourself a fortune!
Buy more fresh food to avoid GST…
Be aware of foods with GST levied and limit how much you buy of them. A simple way to avoid GST is by buying more fresh food, as opposed to processed items, as they are unlikely to be taxed. For a complete list of taxable and non-taxable goods, download and review the GST List of Sundry Goods by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
With the best places for shopping for KL from our first article in the series and these top tips on how to get more for less we hope you are now fully prepared for the world of shopping.
Next week we change the focus from shopping to food, discussing the best restaurants in KL and Selangor.
Happy Reading!