Why you need to invest?

Ever imagine what are you going to do at the age of 55? Well, according to a study carried out by AXA Retirement Scope 2010, most of Malaysian hopes to retire by age of 55, and probably is time for them to travel around and enjoy themselves with their beloved. However 80% of them never plan for retirement fund!

Awareness level of retirement income

Malaysians' perception of their retirement income

Do you think you able to enjoy your life after 60 years old without any proper planning? Well, you might be, if what you need is just a very simple life, providing that you are healthy enough, not needing to spend on the medical expense that keep going up every year.In fact, only 35% of the Malaysian think that the retirement income is sufficient.

Most of us might think that, we can still get money from our children if we really face some financial problems during the old age. However what happen if your children are not earning much and they have their own family to support? Adding pressure to your children is unlikely what you intended.

So why don’t you just do something now? Why don’t you live with dignity when you are old?

People always complaining with their jobs, I was one of those anyway. Complaining about the routine and tedious jobs, low increment and etc. I’d been hearing this all the while though I’m working in MNC that is considered to be very generous in this industry.

So why don’t you try something else to improve your financial status, or plan for an early retirement, and work whatever/whenever you like to.

Some say putting your money in fixed deposit is good and secure, however with the low interest rate of 2.7% now, there is no way to cater the inflation rate. The inflation rate I refer is not the one that reported by government, which might go lower down to <2% which might make you feel secure. 

The inflation rate I refer to is the personal inflation rate; it depends on how much and where you spend. For me, the expenses every month tend to increase by ~5%, all the hawker and restaurant foods are raising their price ~10-25%, and it impact me a lot. I wish I was a hawker sometimes. So if you just save all your money in bank or FD account, your money are not going to grow. Instead the buying power will be dropping year by year!

Malaysia Inflation Rate 2000-2009

Well, for me, investing is the best way for me to escape from the tedious working life and to ensure my financial status is keep growing. You will be able to do this with little capital and utilize your own free time for investment. And remember, you need to get your money working for you, not you working for money!