You Need to Do This with Your First Pay

 It is the weekend. You are probably hanging out with your friends in one of your favourite coffee joints and later catch a movie. Have you really thought about what you spend and what you could have spent on with the amount of money you made?

 In a typical fashion, we all have a desired thing to purchase and keep in view until payday. Well, if you are going to receive your first pay, this is what you have to do (in no particular order or priority).


  Start a saving account
 Do not merge your saving account with your salary account. Leave the salary account as your day-to-day bank account and keep another one for saving. Start small, even if it's RM50 per month, you will gain RM624 (including interest) in a year. Slowly increase the amount of your savings. Before you know it, you will have a large sum of money in that bank.

  Apply for credit card
 This tip is totally against the principle of saving. But you need it. Not for spending, but as a record of healthy financial background. Use your credit card prudently and pay your bills on time. In the future when you request for a car loan or housing loan, the financial institution is going to make a reference of your credit card transaction as a proof of your ability to pay your loan on time.

  Work on your retirement plan
 It's your first job, is it too early to plan for retirement? It is never too early to plan for retirement. The earlier you start executing your plan, the earlier you can retire and do the things you love to do. Use a retirement planning calculator to help you and you will know the estimation of saving you need to start with.

  Repay your loan
 There is no monster scarier than loan. The longer you procrastinate, the higher your loan will be. If you have a study loan such as PTPTN, repay as much as you can so that you are debt-free and able to plan your next step (to buy a car or house). You can also schedule your payment to be deducted from your salary.

  Purchase insurance premium
 There is nothing more important than health. It is important to purchase an insurance premium while you are still young because you are able to get a higher premium and benefits with a lower monthly payment. The older you get, the insurance provider may reject your application or propose a lower premium. With the ever-increasing medical expenses, it will take a toll on your finances if anything happens to you. A simple surgery may cost up to RM30,000.