Nearly half of Malaysians spend more than they earn, survey finds

PETALING JAYA: About 43% of Malaysians spend either more or exactly what they earn, according to the findings of a recent survey by a financial comparison portal.

This, RinggitPlus noted, marked a 10% increase compared with last year.

It also found that 53% of the 8,000 it surveyed were not able to survive more than three months with their savings.

RinggitPlus CEO Liew Ooi Hann said the results of the survey — which was done with Visa — should serve as a wake-up call for Malaysians, who he said should take action to increase their savings.

“The lack of awareness regarding personal finances is an ongoing challenge for us all.

“What’s more alarming to us is that people are living in denial of their financial reality,” he said in a statement.

Liew said based on its survey, Malaysians do not take active measures despite knowing the importance of financial management.

“For example, we found that 34% of the respondents, who believe their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings are not enough for retirement, don’t have a retirement plan to compensate for that,” added the survey.

The survey also found that 37% of those who earn less than RM2,000 do not save at all. - FMT