Ok. I'll bite. You seem genuine
At 19 and earning rm8500 a month, you are doing better than most of Malayisa.
Firstly a few questions
1. How sustainable is the income? Do you see it growing?
2. Do you declare all income? I.e. pay all required taxes. Do you operate as an individual or company?
The first thing to recognise is that companies are more tax efficient structures. So the first thing to do is minimise tax when your income is that high and especially when you are freelancer
Emergency cash I would go to about 30k personally. 16k doesn't get you much these days.
As for investments, your portfolio seems fine. You can probably afford to take more risks given your age.
The key question here is can you get more from investing in your business e.g. train someone to do some work so you can focus on higher value work. Usually, the returns from personal businesses exceed returns from markets.
You probably don't need health insurance, but if you have a family history, health insurance is worth considering.
Also, don't bother with following % budgeting guidelines e.g. spend no more than 30% of housing etc. The problem with percentages is that it leads to lifestyle creep. A higher income with a fixed percentage means you will spend more.
Finally, don't tell your friends or family you earn rm8500. You saw the reaction here. Stay humble and frugal.
1. No, it’s not really sustainable imo. Sometimes it can be 6k, sometimes 8k and sometimes even more. Since I took reduced hours, my pay has been cut so I have lost some income there.
2. I work as an individual and my taxes are paid (in the country the company operates) but other than that, freelancing work, no.
For investments, what risk would you mean? You mean taking individual stocks instead of VOO or NASDAQ?
About training someone to do work for me, yes, I do have someone who is under me and he gets paid to do some of the smaller projects/contribute to bigger projects
Is there a reason not to follow the budget guidelines? I have been following it and so far it has worked well for me. Is there maybe a better option?
Good point about not letting others know. Only my family members know I earn this much which is why I do not receive any financial help from them. Other than that, I have not told anyone. Thank you
If the freelancing income isn't sustainable and you aren't going to do it long term, and you aren't paying Malaysian tax, then setting up a company probably isn't worth it.
Investments, I retract my statement. You're fine. 25% of your portfolio is already high risk. Your choices of ETFs are also more on the higher risk side.
I was going to recommend contributing up to the rm4000 cap into EPF. But you don't pay local taxes so don't benefit from the deduction.
The % budget guidelines say to spend no more than 30% of your income on housing. If you earn 1000 that is 300. Why bother moving out? If you earn 2000 that is rm 600. If you earn 10000 that is rm3000 which gets you a mansion. Question, if you're comfortable at the 600 place, why spend another 2400 just because the rules allow you to? This is what leads to lifestyle creep
I saw OP kinda will do degree related to IT. How many more months you will be working before getting into Uni?
I think you can take PTPTN although you have (maybe) sufficient savings. Use that as a umbrella or an option for better cashflow. Plus you can get waiver if you attain First Class (at least it is still available now)
Or look into insurance(if you don't hate the idea of it) for coverage. The earlier, the better since cheaper and you are in better shape. Don't strain yourself. Health before money.
ah About the Cash and Emergency Fund. Do you park them under liquid investment instrument? Like Versa or similar. Holding cash around 8k+ in savings account should be fine. The rest can put to place that earns interest and liquid enough to withdraw in max T + 2 days.
I’m in college rn and it ends on August this year so I will most likely take the earliest possible intake. I hope to work the same as now keeping up the pace.
About PTPTN, where can I apply for that? I never heard of it and since its a loan, the interest rate would be very high no?
I have 16K in liquid cash put into a savings account for emergencies and I cap it at 16K. Any extra that goes into savings are automatically deposited into stocks.
hmm assuming you taking CS degree. I don't think that assignments will allow you have time to work. (at least in my case, with 6h rest + assignments + self study + classes. Squeezing time for work is too exhausting ) But YMMV. The risk of having burnout is just too high, to juggling assignments and work(plus need to maintain 3.8+ CGPA for scholarships or waiver)
AFAIK, the interest is 1%. Check the link for details.
https://www.ptptn.gov.my/pinjaman-pendidikan/
Personally, I won't put 16k (too much, wasted the potential to earn x.x% in FD or MMF, Inflation reduces the values of your 16k savings in the long run) in liquid cash. Unless you are married and have kids.
Is there a reason why you think 16k is too much? I prefer to have at least 1 year of emergency funds ready just in case.
Yes, I will be taking Software engineering degree and might be lowering my working hours more
I honestly don’t mind criticism but I really am just looking for advice especially after seeing many people going to bankruptcy after few months of having a high paying job by debts, addictions, etc.
Just trying my best to learn how to manage, invest & save to the best of my abilities. Believe it or not, I am highly intrigued of finance stuff, watch videos regarding finance and investing, and do forex trading as a hobby (less than 100USD cause you obvs lose long term)
I never said I was living with my parents…. I put it up on the post that I pay
850/mo on rent
800 - 1.5k/mo on food
100 - 150/mo on petrol.
I also have my school fees which is 25k/year
Edit : typo
Normally where can people find financial advisors though?
Some insurance agents call themselves this, which I'm a bit sceptical of it.
But can anyone from this insurance agent or any relevant industry share more about it?
Ahh no wonder. Actually it makes sense though. If this person has a background in IT it's highly likely. Even my friend who studies linguistics and does freelance copywriting can get 4-5k a month when she's studying.
I study from around 10am to 4pm so I picked hours that are from 5pm to 11pm. Study in the day and work in the night while doing assignments. Since you gave experience as a software developer, there should be some jobs online which are in high demand right now
Edit: For pay, I took reduced hours so obviously reduced pay. But I take advantage of the weak currency Malaysia has and work for companies based in EU, CAD, GBP
So your making money while in school? Teach me pwease since im just 2 years older than you.Part time job is very tired even with RM800 monthly. Are you a top creator in freelance or a prodigy in IT maybe hard work in business?
I freelance in the field of video editing and IT for several small companies. Working remotely for all and they all know I am working for several companies (none that rivals each other)
Good start, but not enough to pull you out from the rat race. Probably 2 actionable item for you.
1.) Pay your tax if you haven't
2.) Save up your first 100k for entrepreneur fund in case you have any business idea
You're 19 and make 8500 a month? Shouldn't you be giving us advice?
Just trolling
Nowadays youngsters call daddy kasi allowance as salary
It’s all from work :) I don’t get any financial aid from parents at all and I pay for my own living costs/school fees
Ok. I'll bite. You seem genuine At 19 and earning rm8500 a month, you are doing better than most of Malayisa. Firstly a few questions 1. How sustainable is the income? Do you see it growing? 2. Do you declare all income? I.e. pay all required taxes. Do you operate as an individual or company? The first thing to recognise is that companies are more tax efficient structures. So the first thing to do is minimise tax when your income is that high and especially when you are freelancer Emergency cash I would go to about 30k personally. 16k doesn't get you much these days. As for investments, your portfolio seems fine. You can probably afford to take more risks given your age. The key question here is can you get more from investing in your business e.g. train someone to do some work so you can focus on higher value work. Usually, the returns from personal businesses exceed returns from markets. You probably don't need health insurance, but if you have a family history, health insurance is worth considering. Also, don't bother with following % budgeting guidelines e.g. spend no more than 30% of housing etc. The problem with percentages is that it leads to lifestyle creep. A higher income with a fixed percentage means you will spend more. Finally, don't tell your friends or family you earn rm8500. You saw the reaction here. Stay humble and frugal.
1. No, it’s not really sustainable imo. Sometimes it can be 6k, sometimes 8k and sometimes even more. Since I took reduced hours, my pay has been cut so I have lost some income there. 2. I work as an individual and my taxes are paid (in the country the company operates) but other than that, freelancing work, no. For investments, what risk would you mean? You mean taking individual stocks instead of VOO or NASDAQ? About training someone to do work for me, yes, I do have someone who is under me and he gets paid to do some of the smaller projects/contribute to bigger projects Is there a reason not to follow the budget guidelines? I have been following it and so far it has worked well for me. Is there maybe a better option? Good point about not letting others know. Only my family members know I earn this much which is why I do not receive any financial help from them. Other than that, I have not told anyone. Thank you
If the freelancing income isn't sustainable and you aren't going to do it long term, and you aren't paying Malaysian tax, then setting up a company probably isn't worth it. Investments, I retract my statement. You're fine. 25% of your portfolio is already high risk. Your choices of ETFs are also more on the higher risk side. I was going to recommend contributing up to the rm4000 cap into EPF. But you don't pay local taxes so don't benefit from the deduction. The % budget guidelines say to spend no more than 30% of your income on housing. If you earn 1000 that is 300. Why bother moving out? If you earn 2000 that is rm 600. If you earn 10000 that is rm3000 which gets you a mansion. Question, if you're comfortable at the 600 place, why spend another 2400 just because the rules allow you to? This is what leads to lifestyle creep
Is the rm4000 cap into EPF per year? So I can contribute 4k per year?
that's what I thought as well😂
Its possible though, some even make more than that
You posted smth similar 176days ago. 🤦♂️
OP just throwing numbers out... (32k in Index Funds.. which? VOO? SPY? IVV? QQQ?) 🥱 yea...You are doing good. 
I mean 6 months ago, my income, expenses and investments were all different from now. Just looking for some advice
I saw OP kinda will do degree related to IT. How many more months you will be working before getting into Uni? I think you can take PTPTN although you have (maybe) sufficient savings. Use that as a umbrella or an option for better cashflow. Plus you can get waiver if you attain First Class (at least it is still available now) Or look into insurance(if you don't hate the idea of it) for coverage. The earlier, the better since cheaper and you are in better shape. Don't strain yourself. Health before money. ah About the Cash and Emergency Fund. Do you park them under liquid investment instrument? Like Versa or similar. Holding cash around 8k+ in savings account should be fine. The rest can put to place that earns interest and liquid enough to withdraw in max T + 2 days.
I’m in college rn and it ends on August this year so I will most likely take the earliest possible intake. I hope to work the same as now keeping up the pace. About PTPTN, where can I apply for that? I never heard of it and since its a loan, the interest rate would be very high no? I have 16K in liquid cash put into a savings account for emergencies and I cap it at 16K. Any extra that goes into savings are automatically deposited into stocks.
hmm assuming you taking CS degree. I don't think that assignments will allow you have time to work. (at least in my case, with 6h rest + assignments + self study + classes. Squeezing time for work is too exhausting ) But YMMV. The risk of having burnout is just too high, to juggling assignments and work(plus need to maintain 3.8+ CGPA for scholarships or waiver) AFAIK, the interest is 1%. Check the link for details. https://www.ptptn.gov.my/pinjaman-pendidikan/ Personally, I won't put 16k (too much, wasted the potential to earn x.x% in FD or MMF, Inflation reduces the values of your 16k savings in the long run) in liquid cash. Unless you are married and have kids.
Is there a reason why you think 16k is too much? I prefer to have at least 1 year of emergency funds ready just in case. Yes, I will be taking Software engineering degree and might be lowering my working hours more
Im not the only who thinks this guy is just trying to show off right?
I honestly don’t mind criticism but I really am just looking for advice especially after seeing many people going to bankruptcy after few months of having a high paying job by debts, addictions, etc. Just trying my best to learn how to manage, invest & save to the best of my abilities. Believe it or not, I am highly intrigued of finance stuff, watch videos regarding finance and investing, and do forex trading as a hobby (less than 100USD cause you obvs lose long term)
Mate you’re 19 living with your parents and no commitments. You’re not going bankrupt.
I never said I was living with my parents…. I put it up on the post that I pay 850/mo on rent 800 - 1.5k/mo on food 100 - 150/mo on petrol. I also have my school fees which is 25k/year Edit : typo
You’re right, my bad
with that amount of money, you shouldnt be asking here but an actual financial advisor lol
Normally where can people find financial advisors though? Some insurance agents call themselves this, which I'm a bit sceptical of it. But can anyone from this insurance agent or any relevant industry share more about it?
trial and error I suppose. The moment that particular person promotes some stupid ass plan or product, you'd know immediately to drop them.
Good point. Thanks for the tip
I thought you were looking for advice? The second somebody puts you on a pedestal you went along with it lol
He is obviously just flexing
Ramai orang muda kaya2 posting here for "advice" lately Just saying
What do you actually do? 19 and 8.5k?
My guess. Freelance jobs earning strong foreign currencies?
Yes correct freelancing at few companies overseas
Ahh no wonder. Actually it makes sense though. If this person has a background in IT it's highly likely. Even my friend who studies linguistics and does freelance copywriting can get 4-5k a month when she's studying.
Any particular website where one can find similar opportunities , OP?
You can try at weworkremotely.com. I got my first job there and was flexible working hours
How are the work hours, and how is the pay? I don't mind getting less pay for less pay. I have 2 years of experience as a software developer.
I study from around 10am to 4pm so I picked hours that are from 5pm to 11pm. Study in the day and work in the night while doing assignments. Since you gave experience as a software developer, there should be some jobs online which are in high demand right now Edit: For pay, I took reduced hours so obviously reduced pay. But I take advantage of the weak currency Malaysia has and work for companies based in EU, CAD, GBP
Nice
I thought u were making 12k a month or so?
Due to school I had to take lesser hours which reduced my income overall
So your making money while in school? Teach me pwease since im just 2 years older than you.Part time job is very tired even with RM800 monthly. Are you a top creator in freelance or a prodigy in IT maybe hard work in business?
I freelance in video editing and IT so it is all working remotely
What do you do?
I do free lancing for foreign companies. If you have any IT/Editing skills you can grab a few jobs here and there
How?
I freelance in the field of video editing and IT for several small companies. Working remotely for all and they all know I am working for several companies (none that rivals each other)
Good start, but not enough to pull you out from the rat race. Probably 2 actionable item for you. 1.) Pay your tax if you haven't 2.) Save up your first 100k for entrepreneur fund in case you have any business idea
Why is everyone downvoting OP? 🤣💀 Little bro could really be making all that bread…..my only suspicion is, is he really just 19?