Survey: 60% Of Malaysians Aged 35 & Below Can’t Survive More Than 3 Months With Their Savings

Ever since the pandemic, many Malaysians have been forced to tighten their belts and live paycheck to paycheck just to continue sustaining themselves and their families.

A recent survey conducted by RinggitPlus revealed that a shocking 60% of Malaysians aged 35 and below can’t survive more than three months with their existing savings. This staggering figure was presented in the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS 2020), along with other worrying statistics concerning patterns in the population’s financial habits.

As compared to last year’s survey, there was no improvement as 53% of total respondents are still unable to survive 3 months with their savings, if they lose their job. 27% of Malaysians also realised how crucial it was to possess an emergency fund since the pandemic. And while the Association of Banks Malaysia (ABM) reported that 7.7 million borrowers took the loan moratorium when it was offered, 16% of survey respondents said they aren’t prepared to continue repaying them.

“When the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced in March, we experienced a significant halt in our nation’s economy. It affected the income of many Malaysians who could not go to work, had to take pay cuts or were even let go as companies were forced to downsize.”

“For the past two years, we had hoped that our survey results would act as a wake-up call but it really was this tragic event in our lives that became the true test to our personal financial habits,” said Hann Liew, the co-founder and executive director of RinggitPlus.

But, it’s not all bad news. The RinggitPlus survey also discovered that 76% of Malaysians claimed that they are in control of their money, which is an increase from last year’s 69%. Meanwhile, 46% of Malaysians reportedly spend exactly what they earn or more, which is an improvement from last year’s 43%.

88% of Malaysians are also shifting their spending behaviours and are opting to choose cashless payments where possible. 90% of these respondents said they have e-wallet apps installed on their phones.

This year, RinggitPlus’ survey received the largest number of respondents with 10,628 people worldwide responding to the survey. They said the results of the survey have enabled them to improve their understanding of the pandemic’s effects on our nation. “We hope that when our economy slowly recovers, Malaysians would take their finances more seriously so that we can all be more prepared in case the next rainy season ever comes,” added Liew.

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Also read: WEF: 85 Million Jobs Will Become Irrelevant In The Next 5 Years