New Year, New You, But Still Broke? Here Are 5 Tips On How to Boost Your Savings This 2019!

Forget New Year’s resolutions, everyone has their own goals set up no matter what time of the year it is. Whether it’s a personal or professional goal, one thing for sure is that having a stable financial standing would certainly help!

So, how can we build up our savings to be in line with the goals that we have set out? Here are a few tips you can follow that will help you do so this 2019.

1. Buy local brands or in-house products for everyday items

Source: ipoh.parade

It seems that our local brands or in-house products from stores such as Tesco and Watsons tend to have negative connotations attached to them when they shouldn’t be.

These products may be significantly cheaper than the big name brands but most of the time, it’s just as good!

You’ll be surprised by the quality of these products especially the in-house personal care products by Watsons and the daily items by Tesco. One rule of thumb to follow is that you should take a look at your groceries list and for each item, ask yourself:

Do I really need to buy a popular brand for this item?

If you want to boost your savings, an in-house or local alternative brand should always be the priority for these products:

• Paper goods such as tissue and toilet paper
• Cleaning products such as detergent and softener
• Snacks such as chips, biscuits and others
• Beverages such as cordial and canned drinks
• Personal hygiene products such as shampoo, soap, lotions and more.

Better go local than go broke, am I right?

2. Sell all your unwanted/unused items 

Source: nadot

Just as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Most Malaysians don’t seem to know how valuable their unwanted or unused items actually are. Just take a browse through online selling platforms and you’ll see that there is definitely a market for your supposedly useless items.

Besides that, you can also go the offline route and sell your unwanted items at car boot sales or flea markets. There is always one being organised in and around the Klang Valley such as the Car Boot Sale in Kota Damasara. You just need to fork out around RM50 to join but they’re always worth it! Especially if you share the spot with family or friends and sell your unwanted stuff together.

Just make sure there is no sentimental value to the items you’re selling first lah. You don’t want to accidentally sell your late grandma’s precious necklace now, do you?

3. Maximise you lifestyle tax relief

Source: Berita Harian

Did you know that you can get tax reliefs in Malaysia for all your lifestyle purchases including smartphones, computers and more? Aptly named the Lifestyle Tax Exemption, here are all the things you can get with the tax exemption from:

• Books, magazines, printed newspapers
• Personal computers, smartphones, or tablets
• Sports equipment (except motorised two-wheel bicycles) and gym memberships
• Monthly internet subscriptions.

Wah, gym membership also can claim! What’s more, you can claim a maximum amount of RM2,500 annually! So, plan your purchases diligently especially if you’re planning to purchase any of the above throughout the year.

Also, remember to keep all your purchase receipts as you’ll need them to claim for the lifestyle tax exemption.

4. Revisit your monthly commitments and bills

Source: depositphotos

Sometimes, we spend a little bit too much monthly than what we’re supposed to and don’t even notice it. Especially if it’s something your mind put into autopilot such as recurring bills and loan repayments.

Of course, it’s too late to reconsider your car loan agreement or mortgage repayments if you’re already halfway into them, but there are smaller commitments that you can revisit and find a cheaper alternative for such as:

• Your home internet package – Are you using the most up-to-date package or are you stuck in an old plan with slower internet but much higher fees?
• Online services subscriptions – Services like Spotify have options for a premium family plan that are a fraction of the price when you share the fee with your family members.
• Transportation fees – Commuting to work? Why not take advantage of the recently implemented RM100 unlimited concession card for public transportation?

The same goes for your monthly bills. Make sure that you are only charged the services that you use and not some extra add-ons you never applied for. After revisiting all of these, make sure to further boost your savings by getting cashback on your bills.

That’s right, bills also got cashback now when you pay your bills with Boost!

Boost not only gives you the convenience of paying your bills straight from your mobile phone but you’ll also receive a shake cashback for every bill payment transaction made through the app.

The graphic below lists down all the bills you can pay with Boost and more utilities will be coming soon too!

Not only that, pay your bills with Boost and you’ll stand a chance to win up to 100% cashback every Tuesday from now till 3rd February!

Wah, 100% cashback wei, which means free bills! Definitely something that will help you boost your savings! A total of 200 winners will be selected every week with an additional 20 winners exclusively for those who pay their Celcom bills with Boost.

5. Move towards a cashless lifestyle

Source: depositphotos

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to save, you’re still bound to spend money each month. Why not use this to your advantage by finding cash rewards for the spending that you already do?

Using cash is not only leceh, but it’s also hard to keep track of where your hard-earned money goes to, which is bound to make you overspend.

By switching to e-wallets such as Boost, you not only get cashback rewards for all your transactions, but it can also help you spend only when you need to without worry of accidentally splurging the extra money out of your wallet!

Furthermore, with automatic documentation of your spendings, you can easily pinpoint which expenditure category you’ve been spending too much on and plan your budget accordingly. Plus, e-wallets such as Boost are available to use even at pasar malams!

The biggest e-wallet is getting even bigger now! Get cashback when paying via Boost and start saving money today!

Sounds awesome if you ask us! Download Boost now if you haven’t already and start saving with Boost! For more information, click here.